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Entranced by the Queen of Sheba
A leading lady in the Bible and the Koran, just
who was the captivating queen at the center of legend? A new
exhibition at London's British Museum seeks to find
out
BY MARYANN
BIRD/London
British
Museum Bronze head of a youth with long
hair in curls, 1st or 2nd Century
A.D. |
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Tuesday, Jun. 25, 2002 She was the
original Spice Girl, first seen in the Old Testament arriving
in Jerusalem in a great camel caravan laden with incense,
gold, precious stones and an array of questions to test King
Solomon's legendary wisdom. A figure to rival Cleopatra as the
personification of brains, seductiveness and power in the
ancient world, the Queen of Sheba is the only female character
to feature in the sacred writings of Judaism, Christianity and
Islam alike. But did she actually exist back in the 10th
century B.C.? And, if so, what was her name, and where was her
home?
Using the myth and mystery of the queen as a
starting point, the British Museum is presenting — until Oct.
13 — a rare look at the isolated desert land from which the
queen is believed to have originated, as well as insights into
a southern Arabian civilization generally unfamiliar to
Western audiences. Through paintings, statues, jewelry,
incense burners, funerary stela, foundation stones and more,
"Queen of Sheba: Treasures From Ancient Yemen" delves into the
monarch's legend and the history of the kingdom believed to
have been hers.
Many of the roughly 300 items in the
exhibition are being shown in Britain for the first time. As
Yemen, a divided nation until 1990, rebuilds its National
Museum in the capital, Sana'a, it finds itself short of
display space and has sent some of its treasures on the road
as a cultural link between peoples. The queen herself appears
to have been just such a link. She has been labelled both
Arabian and Ethiopian, and is known by a variety of names —
including Balkis, Bilqis, Magda, Makeda, Nikaulis and simply
Sheba. According to tales that stretch from Biblical times to
the present day, she was not only a wise and wealthy ruler,
but an alluring one as well. Artists' impressions from Persia,
Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and across Europe — as well as the
Hollywood version, featuring Gina Lollobrigida in the 1959
film Solomon and Sheba — depict an exotic and erotic
oriental beauty.
If the real mystery of Sheba is ever
resolved, it will happen through archaeology. While there are
doubts about the queen's existence, there are none about the
existence of the complex ancient civilizations that thrived at
the southern end of the Arabian peninsula and controlled the
lucrative spice trade. The oldest and most important of these
kingdoms — rediscovered in the mid-19th century — was Saba,
from which the name "Sheba" derives. Thousands of stone
inscriptions testify to Saba's existence from at least the 8th
century B.C. to A.D. 275.
"There are many different
interpretations of the Sheba story," says curator St. John
Simpson, "but in the end the only substantial evidence found
is for the place, not for the person." Off and on since the
early 1950s, archaeologists have excavated portions of the
Awwam temple complex near Saba's capital, Marib, 130 km east
of Sana'a. Among the hundreds of items found there, and a
highlight of the exhibition, is a bronze statue (possibly from
the 6th century B.C.) of a man known as Madilkarib. Clad in a
short kilt and cap, he wears a lion skin draped over his back,
the paws crossed at the front. The statue, says Simpson, marks
"the beginning of three-dimensional sculpture, not only in
bronze but in alabaster as well" in southern Arabia.
An imposing and beautifully preserved
calcite-alabaster statue, dating from the 1st century B.C. and
found at Wadi Markha, is inscribed "Maadil Salhan, son of
Yasuduqil, King of Awsan." Wearing a wraparound skirt with a
fringe, a plain upper garment and sandals, he sports a stubbly
beard and moustache, a circular cap or crown and, on his left
arm, a bracelet and armlet.
Wafting through the
exhibition is the sweet smell of frankincense, eminating from
a display of incense burners in a variety of shapes, sizes and
materials. Reflecting considerable artisanship, the burners —
in bronze, limestone, calcite-alabaster and ceramic —
highlight the importance of incense to both culture and
economy. "It was very highly valued and very highly priced,"
notes Simpson.
Also on display are rare examples of
gold jewelry from the region. "The techniques are in
combinations that aren't seen in Arabia and the rest of the
classical world," he says. "Local styles built up. It is among
the best craftsmanship anywhere." Gold, too, probably was a
significant element of the ancient economy.
The
history of the ancient desert kingdoms of southern Arabia is
further reflected in bronze and stone — altars, funerary and
other commemorative monuments and, particularly, in limestone
inscriptions referring to the construction of multistory
structures. "Skyscraper architecture has a very long history,"
according to Simpson. "What's being excavated are foundations
of tall buildings." Such construction, he adds, "displays
great confidence in building and says a lot about extended
families," while also explaining the relatively small size of
ancient cities with big populations.
In his poem
The Queen of Sheba, the poet Michael Hornyansky wrote
that she is "Brighter than spiced wine, sweeter than
midnight/More secret than the rose." While the lengendary
lady's identity remains tantalisingly out of reach, her
kingdom is increasingly yielding its secrets.
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