Cemetary of Timna, Kingdom of Qataban. Robert T. Keller (Grosse Pointe, Michigan, USA)
1993-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
Male Head from a Funerary Plaque, between 100 BCE and 100 CE
- South Arabian, Arabian
Alabaster
- Overall: 6 7/8 × 4 7/16 × 4 inches (17.5 × 11.3 × 10.2 cm)
Gift of Mrs. Robert T. Keller
1992.357
On View
- Ancient Middle East Gallery
Department
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Details
The eyes and brows of this head were originally inlaid in a darker stone and the "dimple" on the chin with bronze, indicating perhaps a tattoo that was probably meant as a mark of nobility or power. Other pieces have survived with the metal inlay intact. The south Arabian taste for abstract forms is reflected in the treatment of the smooth beard and geometric hairstyle, combined here with a more naturalistic rendering of the face derived from Greco-Roman sculpture.
Henshaw, Julia P., ed. A Visitors Guide: The DIA. Detroit, 1995, p. 100 (ill.).
South Arabian, Arabian, Male Head from a Funerary Plaque, between 100 BCE and 100 CE, alabaster. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Mrs. Robert T. Keller, 1992.357.
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