Jewellery [in South Arabia]

Ancient South Arabian jewellery is a source of information on many aspects of society: cultural influences, economy, traditions, religion and technical skills. Our knowledge of South Arabian jewellery is based on three major collections: at the Aden National Museum (Aqil 1993), the Sana’a National Museum (Antonini et al. 2016), and the Dār al-Athār al-Islamiyya Museum in Kuwait. The contextual origins of most jewels are unknown.

Cultural transmission, local style

Typical South Arabian jewellery features local iconographic motifs, found in architecture and artefacts, such as the bull’s head motif (Simpson 2002: 122), the ibex or the crescent moon. Jewellery production is also characterised by the particular shapes of certain items (e.g., the box-shaped amulet, still in use today), as well as by the presence of Ancient South Arabian inscriptions found on amulets, seals, rings, bracelets and belt buckles.

Moreover, in the context of the incense trade route, the close and permanent links between the South Arabian kingdoms and their neighbours in the Fertile Crescent, from Egypt to Mesopotamia, contributed to the introduction of diverse motifs and shapes.

As soon as the 8th–7th centuries BCE, Persian and eastern Mediterranean influences appear on agate, carnelian, faience, and glass beads (Beck 1944: 96). Between the 5th and 2nd centuries BCE, Hellenistic motifs become commonplace, such as the Hercules knot (Aqil 1993: 157). In the following centuries, most jewellery reflects the Greco-Roman style and eastern Mediterranean influences. Later, a Sasanian influence is observed on rings and seals.

Religious and social function

South Arabian jewellery is characteristic of a society deeply rooted in religious and magical beliefs. Many items of jewellery are amulets with magical and supernatural properties to protect their wearers from the ‘evil eye’. Gold amulets in the shape of a crescent were important elements, dating back to the 8th century BCE (Arbach & Ali Aqil 2021). Some of these jewels are engraved with magical and sacred formulas (Fig. 1). Other cylindrical amulets are also decorated with divine formulae.

Many also feature Greco-Roman symbolic motifs, similar to those found in Syria and Palestine: the bell, the amphora, the trident fork, the pomegranate and the eye.

The representation of jewellery on South Arabian statues could be a social marker. Some female funerary stelae bear engravings of women wearing similar necklaces, showing that they are part of a specific group. These representations of necklaces are identical to a gold necklace preserved in the Sana’a Museum (Fig. 2) (Antonini et al. 2016: fig. 4, 6).Statuary specific to the al-Ḍāliʿ region frequently depicts women adorned with rich jewellery, the most representative example being the Lady of al-Ḍāliʿ (Antonini & Robin 2018: 80, fig. 5).

Materials and fabrication techniques

The material for jewellery was mainly gold, but also silver, copper-alloy, shells, and wood.

South Arabian craftsmen mastered many jewellery-making techniques, from hammered gold sheets to more complex procedures, such as cloisonné, stone and glass inlay, filigree, and granulation, which is frequently used.

Identical shapes were widely produced by stamping, striking, working with a mould, or using a model; for example, a series of locally made medals stamped with Gorgon heads with the characteristic presence of granulation collars, as well as a series of earrings stamped with identical decorative motifs (Fig. 3). The technique of repoussé was also used to produce one piece and to etch inscriptions on the amulets. Jewels were rarely engraved, apart from certain seals and rings.

Leila Ali Aqil

References and suggested reading

• Ali Aqil, L. 1993. Les Bijoux d’Arabie Méridionale à la Période Préislamique. PhD Dissertation, Université de Paris 1-Panthéon Sorbonne.
• Antonini de Maigret, S., F. Betti & L. Ali Aqil 2016. Gioielli sudarabici da Kharibat Hamdan/Haram (Jawf, Yemen): osservazioni preliminary. Sem. Clas. 9: 223–244. DOI: 10.1484/J.SEC.5.112737.
• Antonini de Maigret, S. & C.J. Robin 2018. The South Arabian woman and her social Context/La position sociale de la femme dans l’Arabie méridionale antique. Sem. Clas. 11: 71–92. DOI: 10.1484/J.SEC.5.116795.
• Arbach, M. & L. Ali Aqil 2021. Princesses à la cour royale de Nashshān aux VIII^e-VII^e s. av. J.-C. Semitica 63: 295–313.
• Beck, H.C, 1944. Collection of beads from Hadhramowt, cave sepulchers of Hureidha, and ruin fields of Sune and Ghebun, in G. Caton Thompson (dir.), The tombs and moon temple of Hureidha (Hadhramawt) (Reports of the Research committee of the society of Antiquaries of London XIII). Oxford: OUP.
• Simpson, St J. 2002. Queen of Sheba. Treasures from Ancient Yemen. London: The British Museum Press.

_{Alternate spellings: Jewel, Gem, Gemstone, Amulet}