225 - Funeral stele from the Kingdom of Sheba. Yemen, 2nd–1st centuries B.C.

Funeral stele from the Kingdom of Sheba. Yemen, 2nd–1st centuries B.C. Limestone. Provenance: private collection, England, 1978. Measurements: 24 x 18 x 13 cm (sculpture); 30 x 18 x 10 cm (total height including base). Provenance: Family bequest of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. An archaeological collection assembled beginning in the 1950s by successive generations of the family through acquisitions at European galleries and auction houses. This piece belonged to the English collection. A funerary stele carved from limestone, featuring a schematically rendered face with geometric and idealized lines. The eyebrows are connected by a straight, triangular nose; the mouth appears pursed; and the eyes are particularly prominent—almond-shaped and carved in relief—as they would originally have included inlays of other stones designed to draw attention to the eyes. Archaeologists currently believe that the Kingdom of Saba was located in what are now Ethiopia and Yemen. In its capital, present-day Ma’rib (in southern Yemen), stands the oldest temple on the Arabian Peninsula, called Mahram Bilqus, or “Palace of the Queen of Sheba.” The city was built between the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. and was strategically located along merchant routes, which brought great wealth to the Kingdom of Sheba.