Male Head from a Funerary Plaque

between 100 BCE and 100 CE

South Arabian, Arabian

On View

Ancient Middle East Gallery, Level 1, West Wing

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

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.

Title Male Head from a Funerary Plaque

Artwork Date between 100 BCE and 100 CE

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Arabian

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. South arabian

Medium Alabaster

Dimensions Overall: 6 7/8 × 4 7/16 × 4 inches (17.5 × 11.3 × 10.2 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department Ancient Near Eastern Art

Credit Gift of Mrs. Robert T. Keller

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 1992.357

Markings

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Provenance

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)

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Exhibition History

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Published References

Henshaw, Julia P., ed. A Visitors Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1995, p. 100 (ill.).

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Catalogue Raisoneé

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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.