South Arabian Stone Relief - Bull with Inscription

South Arabia, Yemen, ca. 1st millennium BCE. A handsome sandstone relief featuring the projecting, relief head of a bull. The animal's head is powerful, broad, with large eyes, a wide snout, a heavy forelock, and two broad horns that rise almost the length of the face upward. The face stands out against the long, smooth plaque. Below it is an inscription in the ancient Yemeni alphabet (also known as Old South Arabian), probably in the language of the Kingdom of Qataban. This item was made to be a funerary stele, with the bull's face symbolizing 'Anbay', the chief god. Size: 5.25" W x 9.6" H (13.3 cm x 24.4 cm); 10.75" H (27.3 cm) on included custom stand.

During the first millennium BCE, this part of the world saw several kingdoms - Qataban, Saba (Sheba), and Himyar - emerge who had built their wealth upon desert trade and in particular frankincense and myrrh. They created many figural representations from alabaster and similar stones, many of which were flat panels with high relief faces depicting the dead and made to mark tombs. They have been found in three areas, one of which was the cemetery at Tamna, the capital city of Qataban.

See a similar example at the Detroit Institute of Arts: https://www.dia.org/art/collection/object/funerary-stele-bulls-head-inscribed-tabakarib-mdm-tribe-61989; a complete example with the inscription base sold at Christie's for USD $40,000 in 2011: https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/Lot/a-south-arabian-alabaster-funerary-stele-circa-5443214-details.aspx

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-William Froelich collection, New York, USA, collected in the 1970s

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

We ship worldwide to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.

#143568
Condition Report: Small losses from the corners, with one larger loss from the lower right (facing) corner. Small chips and nicks on surface with light deposits. Tip of bull snout is also partially lost. Despite all this, overall the piece is in good condition, with really nice preservation of many details.