A SOUTH ARABIAN ALABASTER VOTIVE

CIRCA 3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.

Details

A SOUTH ARABIAN ALABASTER VOTIVE
CIRCA 3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.
In the form of two camels on a plinth, both recumbent with their legs folded under, their tails between their legs, the snouts and mouths delineated, the eyes hollowed for now-missing inlays, an inscription running along the front and left side of the plinth, reading, "Wahabum son of GFDM offers to Dhat Zaharâ for the prosperity of his two camels, DF'M and SR'M"
5½ in. (14 cm.) tall

Provenance

German Private Collection, 1975.

Lot Essay

That the dedicant made an offering not for himself, but for the health and wellness of his two camels, attests to the importance of the dromedary (or one-humped Arabian camel) in the Near Eastern trade route. For dedicatory camel figurines in bronze, see nos. 112 and 113 in Simpson, Queen of Sheba.

More from Antiquities

View All