Queen of Sheba : Treasures from Ancient Yemen

The Queen of Sheba is a famous legendary figure, first referred to in the Old Testament as bringing great riches to the court of Solomon. Later Jewish, Islamic, Ethiopian and Christian traditions dwell on different attributes, giving rise to a rich artistic vein, particularly but not exclusively in Renaissance and later art. The truth is that the Queen of Sheba remains an anonymous figure of legend associated with the land of Saba', one of the great early kingdoms of southern Arabia (present-day Yemen). The ancient caravan kingdoms of this region have fascinated travellers and scholars since the nineteenth century but our understanding of the history and culture of this region has been fundamentally revised as a result of new archaeological discoveries made in recent decades. This exhibition catalogue charts the story from the Queen of Sheba in art and legend to the archaeological evidence for the historic kingdoms that gave rise to the legend. It contains twelve essays by leading scholars from Britain, USA, Canada and Europe. Over 300 items are described and illustrated in colour, ranging from little-known artworks in UK collections to antiquities from Yemen, mostly never previously exhibited in Britain and providing a magnificent record of the riches of southern Arabia. Book jacket.

St John Simpson is an Assistant Keeper in The British Museum and is responsible for the ancient Arabia, Iran and 'Alexander to Islam' period collections in the Department of the Ancient Near East. He has worked on archaeological projects throughout the Near East, including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, and has co-directed excavations at Merv in Turkmenistan