A SOUTH ARABIAN ALABASTER LIBATION TABLE

CIRCA 2ND CENTURY B.C.-2ND CENTURY A.D.

Details

A SOUTH ARABIAN ALABASTER LIBATION TABLE
CIRCA 2ND CENTURY B.C.-2ND CENTURY A.D.
Rectangular in form on four short legs, the upper surface with a raised border, a row of six conjoined reclining ibexes projecting from one end atop a plinth, each with a long snout and bulging eyes, the two outermost with the ears, large spiraling horns, legs, and tails articulated, the front of the plinth with seven dentils, the three at the center engraved with Old South Arabian letters reading: "Autumn (harvest) offerings"
22¼ in. (56.5 cm.) long

Provenance

German Private Collection, 1985.

Lot Essay

This offering table was most likely part of a pair, with one designated for autumn and the other for spring. They would have been placed on benches in a temple, two and a half to three feet high.

For a similar example, smaller in size, see no. 294, p. 203 in Simpson, Queen of Sheba, Treasures from Ancient Yemen.

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