Sabaean Bronze Lovers with a Name Inscription

Culture: Sabaean

Period: 1st century A.D.

Material: Bronze

Dimensions: 8.5 cm high

Price: Sold

Ref: 6149

Provenance: Private collection H.K. since the 1970s, acquired at the art market in London.

Condition: Wonderful cuprite patina, intact.

Description: Bronze lovers in an intimate embrace, their mouths united to a kiss. Both stylized figures are almost the same size, wearing no clothes. In their faces only the almond-shaped eyes and noses are accentuated. One figure standing, the other one throwing its legs around the partner at hip height. On the back of both figures a Sabaean inscription, probably indicating the name or the origin. Figures or bronze plaques in this amorous pose were found mainly in the wadi al Shudayf, in today’s Yemen. See for reference “Jemen – Kunst und Archäologie im Land der Königin von Saba”, Wilfried Seipel (Hrsg.), Nr 213, page 311, respectively München, Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, inventory number 94-317880. Mounted.