  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
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  Life Dates
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  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
  
  
  Copyright
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