Exhibit Curator:

Saeed Obaid Ba Yashoot
Yemen, 2016

Limestone incence burner

Yemen, 2ndC BC – 1stC BC

Pink limestone cuboid incense burner carved with an inscription in the ancient South Arabian script known as al-musnad. The inscription gives us the names of four different types of incense or aromatic substances that may have been burned in this incense burner: qust, dhahab (possibly a golden-coloured resin), rand, and na’am. Darkened marks in the interior of the bowl of the burner, along the top, the inside rim and in a circular patch in the centre, all presumably reflect its intense functional use as an incense-burner.