Some thoughts on ibex on plinths in early South Arabian art

Introduction One of the best known iconographic elements of South Arabia is undoubtedly the ibex. The frequency with which this animal appeared is due both to the highly symbolic value it enjoyed with respect to the pantheon of South Arabian divinities (1), and to its inherent qualities—lithe body, lightness of movement and curved horns—which made it particularly suited to artistic reproduction. Representations of ibex were obviously not exclusive to South Arabia; there are numerous examples of them in Iranian art throughout all periods, and elsewhere in the Near East, particularly in the Bronze Age. Interest thus focuses not so much on the fact that ibex are depicted in South Arabia but rather on identifying an artistic language which is ‘codified’ differently in South Arabia to neighbouring cultures.