Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art Part II

Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art Part II

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 103. A South Arabian Alabaster Head of a Woman, Qataban, 3rd Century B.C./1st Century A.D..

Property from an English Private Collection

A South Arabian Alabaster Head of a Woman, Qataban, 3rd Century B.C./1st Century A.D.

Lot Closed

December 7, 10:03 AM GMT

Estimate

6,000 - 9,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

Property from an English Private Collection

A South Arabian Alabaster Head of a Woman

Qataban, 3rd Century B.C./1st Century A.D.


with large eyes recessed for inlays and ears pierced for earrings, grooved canthi and eyebrows, and long hair, a fragment of her right shoulder remaining.

Height 22 cm.

Sotheby's, London, April 29th, 1963, no. 86
Gimpel Fils, London, acquired at the above sale (based on illustrated stock card)
acquired by the present owner from the above
Gimpel Fils, London, Sculpture from South Arabia, exh. cat., December 1970-January 1971, no. 10
The remains of a shoulder suggest that this head was either part of a full figure, which is unlikely considering its relatively large scale, or more probably part of a funerary bust similar to the one sold at Sotheby's, London, July 5th, 2022, no. 116 (S. Antonini, La scultura sudarabica in pietra, 2001, cat. no. D 5, pl. 71). The deeply grooved canthi are an unusual feature.