Arabian art and architecture

Arabian art and architecture, the art and architecture of ancient Arabia.

The pre-Islāmic history of the great Arabian subcontinent is primarily that of a nomadic people. By the second half of the 20th century, traces of their art and architecture had been found only in the long-settled agrarian provinces of the south and the maritime trading centres facing the Arabian Sea. For the most part, these sites fall within the frontiers of the state known until 1990 as Yemen (Aden). In ancient times the prosperity of these provinces, with their harbour towns and caravan routes, depended entirely upon trade. Merchandise from Africa, India, and the Persian Gulf, together with frankincense and myrrh (for which Arabia was famous), were carried northward to Egypt and the Mediterranean, greatly enriching the cities and tribes through whose territory they passed. The history of the several kingdoms into which Arabia was divided—Sabaʾ (Sheba), Qatabān, Ḥimyar, and others—is now known, and their cities, long inaccessible to archaeologists, are being systematically explored.

It is not surprising that the style and character of both architecture and sculpture suggest a complicated synthesis of influences, first from Egypt or Mesopotamia and later from the classical culture of the Mediterranean. In public buildings—predominantly temples dedicated to deities of an Arabian pantheon—there is a long-standing tradition of fine ashlar masonry (of hewn or squared stone) and sculptured ornament. Sculpture is also represented by a striking variety of carved memorial stelae and freestanding votive statues, often carved in alabaster. These are notable for their crude but distinctive style of portraiture or symbolism. In sculptured friezes, some Arabian motifs are recognizable—for instance, the alternation between bucrania (ox heads adorned with ribbons or garlands) and ibex (wild goat) heads.