Female Head from a Funerary Monument

between 100 BCE and 100 CE

South Arabian, Arabian

On View

Ancient Middle East Gallery, Level 1, West Wing

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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Credit Line for Reproduction

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About the Artwork

The South Arabian kingdoms developed a unique school of funerary sculpture based on formal, geometric principles and influenced by the Greco-Roman world and a local cult of ancestor worship. The large eyes of this woman were once inlaid with dark limestone or blue lapis lazuli, and the roughly carved hair was covered by a plaster wig. As a funerary portrait, it might have adorned a burial chamber or the niche of a temple sanctuary as a votive offering.

Title Female Head from a Funerary Monument

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: 11 3/8 × 5 1/4 × 5 3/4 inches (28.9 × 13.3 × 14.6 cm)

Classification Sculpture

Department Ancient Near Eastern Art

Credit Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, and funds from the Antiquaries

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. 1992.210

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

Reportedly from Cemetary of Timna, Kingdom of Qataban. (Hadji Baba Ancient Art, London, England)

1992-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

SOTHEBY'S ANTIQUITIES AND ISLAMIC ART. Sales cat., June 20, 1990 no. 109, (ill.) Andre Emmerich gallery, N.Y. 1960, Collection Major M.D. Van Lessen, London. [Reportedly from Haid bin'Aqil, necropolis of Timna.]

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, Female Head from a Funerary Monument, between 100 BCE and 100 CE, alabaster. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase, Robert H. Tannahill Foundation Fund, and funds from the Antiquaries, 1992.210.