Head of a woman

Object Details

Description

Alabaster head of a woman with a wig-style plaster curls hanging in Egyptian fashion at the back of the head. Missing part of the nose. Two holes in the plaster wig at the upper part of the neck served initially for a necklace. The eyes still retain lapis lazuli and on either cheek small strips had been carved out and were filled in with a strip of different alabaster.

Provenance

Between 1950 and 1952-2013

American Foundation for the Study of Man, Falls Church, VA, acquired from excavation at Timna, Wadi Bayhan, Yemen [2]

From 2013

The National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, by gift of the American Foundation for the Study of Man [2]

Notes:

[1] See “Incoming Loan Agreement,” dated March 30, 1992, copy in object file. The object was transferred from the American Foundation for the Study of Man to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery for long term loan on March 30, 1992.

Wendell Phillips (1922-1975) founded the Foundation for the Study of Man (AFSM) in 1949 in New York City and was its president until his death. The AFSM conducted two campaigns in Western Aden British Protectorate between 1950 and 1951. The first campaign occurred between March and April of 1950, and the second campaign was from February 19, 1951, until May 3, 1951. Both were supervised by chief archaeologist, William Foxwell Albright (1891-1971), but only the first campaign included the archaeologist, Alexander M. Honeyman (1907-1988), who was then affiliated with the University of St. Andrews. For further background information on the expeditions see: Memo from W.F. Albright, first Vice-President, American Foundation for the Study of Man to the directors of AFSM, December 8, 1952, copy in American Foundation for the Study of Man, collections management file. See also, “Forward” written by Wendell Phillips in Cleveland, Ray L. “An Ancient South Arabian Necropolis: Objects from the Second Campaign, 1951, in the Timna? Cemetery,” [book] (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1965), pp. ix-x.

The American Foundation for the Study of Man (Wendell Phillips, president, 1949-1955) started excavations in present-day Yemen in 1950 under an agreement with Sherif Hussein, the ruler of Bayhan and overseen by the director of Antiquities of the government of the British Protectorate of Aden.

The agreement reportedly provided for a partage of the finds, granting 50% to the Foundation with the balance to the sherif.

[2] See, “Acquisition Consideration Form,” approved on October 20, 2011, copy in object file. See also signed “Deed of Gift,” dated May 2, 2013, copy in object file. From 2013-2023 the object was part of the National Museum of Asian Art’s Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection and on March 21, 2023, the work was internally transferred to the National Museum of Asian Art Collection.

Research updated on June 27, 2024

Collection

National Museum of Asian Art Collection

Exhibition History

Ancient Yemen: Incense, Art, and Trade (September 3, 2022 - ongoing)

The World Between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East (March 11 to June 23, 2019)

A Glimpse of Ancient Yemen (August 18, 2018 to March 30, 2021)

Unearthing Arabia: The Archaeological Adventures of Wendell Phillips (October 11, 2014 to June 7, 2015)

Caravan Kingdoms: Yemen and the Ancient Incense Trade (June 25 to September 11, 2005)

Yemen au pays de la reine de Saba (October 25, 1997 to October 13, 2002)

Arabia Felix, the Land of the Queen of Sheba (March 27, 1969 to July 30, 1972)

Untitled Exhibition, Chrysler Building, New York, 1955 (1955)

Lost Cities of Biblical Arabia (November 12 to December 31, 1955)

Previous custodian or owner

American Foundation for the Study of Man (founded 1949)

Credit Line

Gift of The American Foundation for the Study of Man (Wendell and Merilyn Phillips Collection)

1st century BCE-mid 1st century CE

Accession Number

S2013.2.139

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Sculpture

Medium

Alabaster, stucco, and bitumen

Dimensions

H x W x D: 30.2 × 18.2 × 17.3 cm (11 7/8 × 7 3/16 × 6 13/16 in)

Origin

Wadi Bayhan, Yemen

On View

Sackler Gallery 22b: Ancient Yemen: Incense, Art, and Trade

Related Online Resources

Google Cultural Institute

See more items in

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Topic

stone

woman

Yemen

Ancient Near Eastern Art

head

Wendell and Merilyn Phillips collection

funerary

Record ID

fsg_S2013.2.139

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3c3aba762-e176-4460-a1ce-1916faaa3786