Ancient South Arabia, Yemen, ca. early first millennium BCE. A cast bronze statuette of a camel with an erect head and neck, a slight hump, and a friendly face with big, round eyes that gives him a charming look. Deep wells on either side of the center of the body may have once been pierced all the way through and since has been filled in with soil deposits. Perhaps this item could be worn as a pendant when first made. Size: 4" W x 3.55" H (10.2 cm x 9 cm); 3.9" H (9.9 cm) on included custom stand.

This camel is posed as if walking, a dynamic form for an animal whose ability to walk was prized above all else by the South Arabians. The camel was domesticated in South Arabia some time during the Bronze Age (ca. 3000 BCE), and rapidly became central to its economy. Camels allowed them to traverse the vast desert of the Rub' al-Khali, "the Empty Quarter", and were the main method of transport for long-distance trade north to the huge urban centers of the ancient Near East. In turn, South Arabia became famous as a source of perfumes and incense necessary to religious ceremonies in Mesopotamia and beyond. Bronze camel statuettes like this one seem to have been votive offerings, often presented as this one is without inscription. For example, many were found as funerary offerings in various necropoli.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection

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#137227

Mottled brown and green patina on surface. Some small cracks on the surface, notably one ear and foot.