Head of a Woman

Description The locks of hair on each side of this three-dimensional head indicate that it represents a woman. Similar female heads were produced from the 1st century BCE through the 1st century CE in Hayd ibn 'Aqil, the cemetery associated with Timna'-the capital of the Qatabanean kingdom. The sculpture originally had inlaid eyes and brows, as well as painted plaster additions to the hair.

Exhibitions

• Faces of Ancient Arabia: The Giraud and Carolyn Foster Collection of South Arabian Art. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. 2008.

Provenance Sale, Sotheby's, London, January 23(?), 1967, lot 87; Giraud and Carolyn Foster, Baltimore, January 23(?), 1967, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2007, by gift.

Credit Gift of Giraud and Carolyn Foster, 2007