Funerary Statuette of Abī-yadaʿ

Place of OriginYemen, probably from Hayd ibn ʿAqīl, near Timnaʿ

Date4th-3rd Century BCE

Dimensions18 1/2 × 7 1/2 × 6 1/2 in. (47 × 19.1 × 16.5 cm)

MediumCalcite alabaster with inlaid shell in the eyes

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, by exchange

Object number

2023.340

Not on View

DescriptionThis freestanding male figure stands on a rectangular base with bent arms held forward, one hand clenched and the other lost. The statue is carved from pale alabaster with visible veining and includes inlaid eyes of shell or a composite material. The face is oval and smooth, with a simple nose and mouth, and the figure wears no clothing. The base is incised with a South Arabian inscription naming the subject. Evidence of repair and reddish staining is visible on the right forearm, possibly due to an ancient metal pin.

Label TextThis sculpted figure of a man, carved from smooth, translucent alabaster and once inlaid with gleaming shell eyes, offers a powerful glimpse into the commemorative traditions of ancient South Arabia. Dating to the 4th century BCE, it originates from the kingdom of Qatabān, a major incense-trading polity that flourished in what is now Yemen. The South Arabian inscription carved into the base reads "ʾbydʿ ḏ-Ḏmrʾl" (Abī-yadaʿ son of Damar'ali), identifying the individual by name and lineage—an act of memorialization deeply rooted in Qatabanite funerary practice. This figure likely comes from Hayd ibn ʿAqīl, the principal cemetery of Timnaʿ, Qatabān’s capital. Timnaʿ was strategically located along the overland incense route, which linked southern Arabia to the wider Mediterranean and Indian Ocean worlds. The city reached its political peak in the 4th century BCE, asserting independence from the rival kingdom of Sabaʾ, before being absorbed by Ḥaḍramawt in the 1st century CE. This figure is one of nine known sculptures from the Guido Cetti Collection, assembled in Massawa, Eritrea by the early 20th century.Published ReferencesConti Rossini, Carlo, “Iscrizioni sabee,” Rendiconti della Reale Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Classe di Scienze Morali, Storiche e Filologiche, ser. 6, vol. 1, 1925, p. 182, repr.

Chabot, Jean-Baptiste, Répertoire d'épigraphie sémitique, vol. 6, Paris, Imprimerie nationale, 1933–1935, no. 3896 (13).

Avanzini, Alessandra, ed., Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions I: Qatabanic, Marginal Qatabanic, Awsanite Inscriptions, Pisa, Edizioni Plus – Università di Pisa, 2004, no. 784.

Comparative ReferencesCf. Cleveland, Ray L., An Ancient South Arabian Necropolis: Objects from the Second Campaign (1951) in the Timna Cemetery, Baltimore, The Johns Hopkins Press, 1965.

Cf. Antonini, Sabina, and Mounir Arbach, La statuaria sudarabica in pietra, Rome and Paris, 2001.