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

of highly simplified form with flat facial plane, small grooved mouth, long rectangular nose, and prominent eyes beneath the straight overhanging brows.

American private collection, Jidah, Saudi Arabia, until 1969
by descent to the present owner

good and as shown; proper left side of the head is roughly worked (or damaged in antiquity), relatively flat back has standard rough workmanship, minor chips and abrasions overall, surface slightly worn.
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For related examples  found in the Wadi al-Jawf region see C. Rathjens, Sabaeica; Bericht über die archäologischen Ergebnisse seiner zweiten , dritten, und vierten Reise nach Südarabien (Mitteilungen aus dem Museum für Völkerkunde in Hamburg, vol. XXIV), II Teil: : Die Unlokalisierte Funde, Hamburg, 1955. Also see S. Antonini, Repertorio Iconografico Sudarabico, Tomo 1: La statuaria sudarabica in pietra, Rome and Paris, 2001, pls. 112-118, nos. E114-E132; the author compares these heads from the Jawf to heads from other regions of southern Arabia: "The modeling and structure seem vaguer and more elusive, the contours more angular, and the facial features more synthesized: the use of inlay is less common, as the eyes are often not hollowed out but incised, in relief, or only painted. In particular the T-shape assumed by the nose and prominent eyebrows, and the form of the small motionless mouth with thick lips are distinct from the Minaean type (...). These same characteristics can be found in certain statuettes of seated figures which are typical of the Jawf."