ClassificationsAncient Near Eastern Art
Male Head from a Statue
AAT Object Form/Functionstatues
Place CreatedAl-Ula, Saudi Arabia, Asia
CultureLihyanite
PeriodIron Age
Date4th-3rd Century BCE
MediumSandstone
Credit LineGift of Ann Boon Rhea in honor of Dr. Woolford Baker
Dimensions8 9/16 x 5 1/16 x 6 7/16 in. (21.7 x 12.9 x 16.3 cm)
Object number1981.018
Label TextThis sandstone head was found near al-'Ula (ancient Dedan), one of the most important oases of Northern Arabia and an important caravan stop on the incense route that went from Yemen to the Levant. Originally part of a statue, this head may be associated with a Lihyanite sanctuary at the site dating to the fourth through third centuries B.C., where similar male statues, perhaps representing deities, have been found. The Lihyans, a tribe who controlled the oasis after the fall of the kingdom of Dedan, left a considerable number of inscriptions in the region naming at least eight of their kings and the names of numerous gods and goddesses including a chief deity, Dhu-Ghabat.Exhibition HistoryA Preview of the Collections, Schatten Gallery, February 15 - April 4, 1982
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, May 11, 1993 - Spring 2001
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2001 - 2006
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, May 14, 2013 - February 12, 2018
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, April 15, 2024 - Present
Published ReferencesEmory University Museum of Art and Archaeology: A Preview of the Collection (Atlanta: The Museum, 1982), 9, number 31.
ProvenanceEx coll. Ann Boon Rhea, United States, prior to 1972.
Status
On viewCollections
- Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art
3rd Millennium BCE
722-332 BCE
Early 1st Millennium
1st-3rd Century CE
3rd Millennium BCE
3rd Millennium BCE
3rd Millennium BCE
3rd Millennium BCE
3rd Millennium BCE
2nd Century CE
167-30 BCE
1279-1213 BCE
