September 3, 2022–ongoing
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Dates
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Location
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery | Gallery 22
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Collection Area
Ancient Near Eastern Art
Nestled in the southwestern corner of the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen became a major hub for the trade of incense during the first millennium BCE. This trade reached its climax between the first century BCE and the second century CE. Incense was traded by land and also by sea, reaching the Mediterranean world as well as ancient Iran and South Asia. This lucrative trade resulted in tremendous wealth and encouraged the patronage of elaborate architecture and distinctive works of art. The fine alabaster statues and metalworks display the masterful skills of artists from ancient Yemen, who blended local ideas and Greek and Roman inspirations into new creations, underscoring the region’s remarkable artistic and cultural cosmopolitanism.
Striding lion with Eros child (one of a pair) (detail), Yemen, early 1st century BCE–mid-1st century CE, bronze, Gift of The American Foundation for the Study of Man (Wendell and Merilyn Phillips Collection), Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, S2013.2.77.1
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Architectural frieze
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Geography
Yemen
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Material
Calcite travertine
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Accession
S1986.509
Statue of standing male figure
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Period
Kingdom of Qataban
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Geography
Yemen
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Material
Calcite travertine
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Accession
S1986.514
Roof gutter with bull's head downspout
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Limestone
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Accession
S2013.2.47
Rectangular incense burner with recessed paneling imitating architecture (fragment)
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Limestone
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Accession
S2013.2.63
Incense burner with partial inscription
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Limestone
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Accession
S2013.2.64
Striding lion with Eros child (one of a pair)
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Geography
Yemen
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Material
Bronze
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Accession
S2013.2.77.1
Striding lion with Eros child (one of a pair)
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Geography
Yemen
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Material
Bronze
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Accession
S2013.2.77.2
Plaque with dedicatory inscription and attachment of an extended hand holding a phiale/lamp
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Bronze
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Accession
S2013.2.88
Amphora with handles originating from silenus masks at shoulder and terminating in lion's heads at rim
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Geography
Greece or Rome?
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Material
Bronze
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Accession
S2013.2.119
Column with fluted shaft and Corinthian capital, fragment
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Geography
Roman Levant
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Material
Bronze
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Accession
S2013.2.120
Head of a woman (known as "Miriam"), fragment
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Alabaster, stucco and bitumen
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Accession
S2013.2.139
Torso of a woman, fragment of two pieces, now joined
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Calcite alabaster
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Accession
S2013.2.148
Seated woman with clenched fists
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Calcite alabaster
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Accession
S2013.2.152
Face stela
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Limestone
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Accession
S2013.2.165
Face stela
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Limestone
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Accession
S2013.2.167
Face stela
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Limestone with traces of red pigment
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Accession
S2013.2.173
Stela with bull's head, fragment
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Calcite alabaster
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Accession
S2013.2.175
Two joined ibexes, fragment
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Calcite alabaster
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Accession
S2013.2.183
Stela with inscribed base
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Calcite alabaster
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Accession
S2013.2.189
Stela with the figure of a woman above one line of inscription
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Calcite alabaster
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Accession
S2013.2.208
Head set in inscribed stepped base
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Calcite alabaster head set in limestone base
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Accession
S2013.2.211
Stela with bull's head, inscribed below
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Calcite alabaster
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Accession
S2013.2.214
Frieze with ibex heads, fragment
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Limestone
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Accession
S2013.2.225
Incense burner with paneled decoration
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Limestone
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Accession
S2013.2.240
Incense burner with incised decoration
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Limestone with plaster skim-coating and traces of red pigment
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Accession
S2013.2.244
Amulet of the goddess al-Lat, inscribed
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Geography
Wadi Bayhan, Yemen
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Material
Gold
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Accession
S2013.2.339
Figure of a woman, fragment, with partial inscription
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Geography
South Arabia, Yemen
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Material
Bronze
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Accession
S2013.2.357
Torso of an Indian goddess (yakshi?) in dancing position, fragment
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Geography
India
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Material
Bronze
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Accession
S2013.2.378
Bag of frankencense
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Geography
Yemen?
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Material
Frankencense
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Accession
S2013.2.383