Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art Part I
Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art Part I
Property from the Collection of the late Antonin and Christiane Besse
A South Arabian Alabaster Figure of a Woman, Qataban, 3rd Century B.C./1st Century A.D.
Auction Closed
December 7, 04:32 PM GMT
Estimate
18,000 - 22,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from the Collection of the late Antonin and Christiane Besse
A South Arabian Alabaster Figure of a Woman, Qataban
3rd Century B.C./1st Century A.D.
standing with extended forearms on an integral base inserted into a separate plinth, each engraved in front with one line of South Arabic inscription (Lbʾ / ḏt Ṯbw), and wearing a long close-fitting tunic, the eyes with inlaid pupils, the eyebrows grooved, the ears pierced,
Total height 46 cm.
reputedly from Beihan, probably from Hayd ibn 'Aqil, the necropolis of ancient Timna'
Antonin Besse (1927-2016) and Christiane Besse (1928-2021), Aden and Paris, acquired in Yemen in the 1960s, collection number CB40 (recorded for export to France by the Department of Antiquities, Aden State, in April and May 1967)
by descent to the present owner
Published
Yémen, Au pays de la reine de Saba (catalogue of the exhibition at the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, Oct. 25th, 1997, to Feb. 28th, 1998), Paris, 1997, p. 160
Yemen. Nel paese della Regina di Saba (catalogue of the exhibition at Palazzo Ruspoli, Fondazione Memmo, Rome, April 6th to June 30th), Milan, 2000, p. 350, cat. no. 254
Sabina Antonini, La statuaria sudarabica in pietra (Repertorio iconographico sudarabico, I), Paris and Rome, 2001, p. 81, C16, pl. 31
Alessandra Avanzini, ed., Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions I-III, Qatabanic, Marginal Qatabanic, Awsanite, Pisa, 2004, I, 709
CSAI (Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions) I, 709 = C 16: http://dasi.cnr.it/index.php?id=dasi_prj_epi&prjId=1&corId=0&colId=0&navId=405022960&recId=4950.