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Lot 151*

1 May 2013, 10:30 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £10,000 inc. premium

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A South Arabian granite stylised idol
Circa 3rd-2nd Millennium B.C.
Standing on typical short legs, depicted wearing a diagonal sash, the arms folded with a ribbed waistabnd below, the small head carved with long nose and slightly recessed eyes, 13¼in (34cm) high, mounted

Footnotes

Provenance:
German private collection, acquired before 1972.

Literature:
Such idols are found in the Yemeni Highlands and are some of the earliest anthropomorphic representations in South Arabia. They have been interpreted as fertility figures or protectors of the dead. For a siimilar example cf. St John Simpson (ed), Queen of Sheba, British Museum 2002, p. 86, no. 88.

Additional information

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