Intaglio with Two Birds
(South Arabia)
This small intaglio depicts two birds, one of which sits on a basket-like nest. Based on similar examples, it appears to have been created in a Greco-Roman workshop and then imported into South Arabia by a traveler, trader, or other agent. It is likely that the intaglio had an amuletic as well as ornamental function.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Ahmed [local art dealer], Ta'izz, Yemen; Giraud and Carolyn Foster, Baltimore, 1961, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2007, by gift.
Exhibitions
2008 | Faces of Ancient Arabia: The Giraud and Carolyn Foster Collection of South Arabian Art. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Arabian Peninsula (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 1/2 x W: 5/16 x D: 1/16 in. (1.2 x 0.8 x 0.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Giraud and Carolyn Foster, 2007
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
42.1513