Ancient South Arabian art was the art of Pre-Islamic cultures of the southern Arabian peninsula, which was produced from 3rd millennium BCE until 7th century CE.
Development
Old Arabian art experienced its first flourishing at the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE at the time of the South Arabian classical culture, centred on the kingdoms of the Sabaeans and Minaeans in modern Yemen. The 5th century BCE marked the golden age of Saba, whose main centres were Ma’rib and Sirwah.
Geometric, stylised forms typical of ancient South Arabian art, both in sculpture and in architecture, took on smoother forms form the 5th century BCE. The kingdom of the Nabataeans, established in the northern part of the Arabian peninsula in the late 4th century BC acted as an intermediary between the Arabian cultures and those of the Mediterranean.
The kings of Himyar gained control of South Arabia at the end of 3rd century CE. With Islamic expansion in the second half of 6th century CE, South Arabian art was displaced by early Islamic art.
Before 5th century BCE
The oldest south Arabian sanctuaries belong to the prehistoric period and were simple stone monoliths, sometimes surrounded by stone circles or mortarless masonry walls. In the second phase, actual temples were constructed.
Early Sabaean temples were simple rectangular stone structures without roofs. Their interiors were initially very different from one another. Some cult buildings at Jabal Balaq al-Ausaṭ southwest of Ma’rib, which consist of a courtyard and a tripartite cella, provide a link to a temple type found only in Saba, which had a rectangular ground plan and a propylon and was divided into two parts – an inner courtyard with pillars on three sides and a tripartite cella. Jurgen Schmidt includes in this type the temple of the moon deity Wadd built around 700 BCE between Ma’rib and Sirwah at Wadd ḏū-Masmaʿ, as well as the temple built by Yada’il Dharih I at Al-Masajid , which is surrounded by a rectangular wall. Later examples of this schema are found at Qarnawu (5th century BCE) and Al-Huqqa (1st century BCE).
In the other kingdoms, this type contrasted with the hypostyle ‘multi-support temples’ which were built with square, rectangular or even asymmetrical ground plans and were surrounded by regularly spaced columns. In contrast to the aforementioned Sabaean temples, these structures were not arranged around a cella or an altar. Initially these temple contained six or eight pillars, but later they ranged up to thirty-five.
Until 5th century BCE, temple columns were undecorated monoliths with rectangular or square cross-sections. This sort of column is found in the entrance hall of the Awwam temple and Ḥaram-Bilqīs in Ma’rib, Yemen.
5th century BCE onwards
In 5th century BCE, a new kind of stoneworking appeared, in which the edges of the stones were polished, while the centre of the exposed faces were pecked. This ‘marginally drafted’ style changed over time, making a chronological arrangement of walls built in this style possible.
From 5th century BCE, columns started to be decorated.
From 2nd century BCE, these forms were significantly influenced by Greek architecture and later Sasanian architecture influence is detectable.
Since 5th century CE, columns also had capitals – initially simple plinths, which subsequently developed into various forms.
It is still unclear whether there were images of deities, but the statuettes of humans which were dedicated in the sanctuary of Ma’rib demonstrate that highly developed bronze casts existed by the middle of the 1st century CE, on which the individual donor was recorded by means of an inscription.
Structural Details
Construction Methods:
Ancient South Arabia was dominated by stone buildings. Only in the coastal areas and the Hadhramaut capital of Shabwa were there also large numbers of mudbrick structures. For monumental buildings, large hewn blocks of stone were used, which were fitted together without mortar and unhewn stone which required mortar. Lime mortar, mud, and asphalt were used as binding materials. In tall walls, vertical lead props and horizontal pins and brackets were inserted as well. Only the exterior face of the stones was smoothed. Larger walls were often double-shelled, with the rough sides of the stones abutting one another inside the wall. Possibly for aesthetic reasons, the walls of monumental structures were sloped, and buttresses or small bastions helped maintain the stability of the wall. In the 5th century BCE, a new kind of stoneworking appeared, in which the edges of the stones were polished, while the centre of the exposed faces were pecked. This ‘marginally drafted’ style changed over time, making a chronological arrangement of walls built in this style possible.
Interior walls were either plastered (sometimes featuring wall paintings) or covered with stone cladding, with paintings imitating ashlar blocks and sometimes even three-dimensional friezes. Little is known about ceiling construction, although vaulting survives in pillbox-graves – simple gabled roofs decorated with images. 3 cm thick translucent marble or alabaster sheets, sometimes with incised decoration, served as window panes.
Gateways:
In case of Sabaean temples, if the temple complexes had a propylon , it would be usually divided into 2 parts: an inner courtyard with pillars on three sides and a tripartite cella. In case of Al-Masajid temple, and possibly others, there was a triple entrance with the middle one given special emphasis by a pillared propylon.
Columns:
Until 5th century BCE, columns would be undecorated monoliths, after which some kinds of decorations can be seen. Since 5th century CE, they also started having capitals.
→ Undecorated rectangular columns of Awwam temple Awwam, Ma’rib Governorate, Yemen. Built before 7th century BCE [Source: File:Jemen1988-026 hg.jpg – Wikimedia Commons]
Images of deities and other figures:
It is still unclear whether there were images of deities, but the statuettes of humans which were dedicated in the sanctuary of Ma’rib demonstrate that highly developed bronze casts existed by the middle of the 1st century CE, on which the individual donor was recorded by means of an inscription.
Stone pedestals with dedicatory inscriptions show that votive statuettes made of precious metals and bronze were created in Himyar until late antiquity. In addition to bronze (and occasionally gold and silver), limestone was a common material for sculptures, especially alabaster and marble.
→ “Bronze man” found in Al-Baydā’ (ancient Nashqum, Kingdom of Saba’) in Al Bayda Governorate, Yemen. 6th–5th century BCE [Source: File:BronzeManNashqum.jpg – Wikimedia Commons]
Typical features of ancient South Arabian sculpture are cubic base forms, a plump overall shape and very strong emphasis on the head. The rest of the body is often depicted only in a schematic and reduced fashion; often only the upper body is depicted at all. Much South Arabian art is characterised by minimal attention to realistic proportion, which manifests with large ears and a long, narrow nose. In most cases, sculpture in the round and reliefs faced directly at the viewer; in reliefs the frontal perspective typical of ancient Egyptian art , in which the head and legs are depicted from the side, but the torso from the front, is occasionally encountered. Pupils were made of coloured material which was inserted into holes in the eyes. Initially, drapery was not depicted, but later it was indicated by deep grooves or layers. There are no general characteristics in the arrangement of arms and legs.
→ South Arabian fragment of a stela, depicts a reclining ibex and three Arabian oryx heads. The ibex was one of the most sacred animals in South Arabia, while the oryx antelope was associated with ʿAṯtar the moon deity. 5th century BCE [Source: File:South Arabian – Fragment of a Frieze with an Ibex and Oryxes – Walters 2138.jpg – Wikimedia Commons]
→ Sculpture of a Sabaean priestess raising her hand to intercede with the sun deity on behalf of a donor. Probably 1st century CE. [Source: File:South Arabian – Stele with a Female Bust – Walters 2173.jpg – Wikimedia Commons]
Temples:
There have been broadly 3 types of temples identified.
Sabaean temples —
Such temples have rectangular ground plan and a propylon and was divided into two parts – an inner courtyard with pillars on three sides and a tripartite cella. These seem to be found only in Saba.
→ 3D model of Sabaean altar found in the vicinity of Barran Temple in Marib [Source: File:Sabaean altar, marib.jpg – Wikimedia Commons]
→ Entrance to an Almaqah temple in Sirwah, Yemen. Built 8th-7th century BCE, abandoned in 3rd century CE [Source: Yemen’s ancient city of Sirwah in jeopardy]
→ Elevated view of Barran temple [Source: Barran Temple – Madain Project (en)]
→ Elevated view of Awwam temple [Source: Temple of Awwam – Madain Project (en)]
→ Sabaean style temple complex (~700 BCE) in Yeha (then capital D’mt kingdom) in Tigray region, Ethiopia [Source: File:ET Tigray asv2018-01 img32 Yeha.jpg – Wikimedia Commons]
Hadhramite ‘terrace temples’ —
These temples are accessed by a great stairway, which leads up to an enclosed terrace, on top of which stands a cella with a podium.
Hypostyle ‘multi-support temples’ —
These were built with square, rectangular or even asymmetrical ground plans and were surrounded by regularly spaced columns. In contrast to the aforementioned Sabaean temples, these structures were not arranged around a cella or an altar. Initially these temple contained six or eight pillars, but later they ranged up to thirty-five.
→ A temple of Maʿīn kingdom (4th-2nd century BCE) in northern Yemen [Source: http://britannica.com/place/Main-ancient-kingdom-Yemen]
Śilpaśāstrādityam 
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