"Queen of Sheba: Legend and Reality" brings myth and folklore to Santa Ana's Bowers Museum

Museum • This bronze head sculpture from the Queen of Sheba collection was lent to The British Museum by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and can be seen at the Bowers Museum through Mar. 13, 2005. Bowers Museum and the Trustees of the British Museum

Museum • This stela, as it is called, is most likely originally from the Timna cemetery at Hayd ibn Aqil, in Southern Arabia, and serves as a dedication to a certain woman or a goddess of the time. Bowers Museum and the Trustees of the British Museum

 

By Adam Zitomer
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer

For the first and only time in the United States, the "Queen of Sheba: Legend and Reality" exhibit is currently on display in Southern California at Santa Ana's Bowers Museum. Bowers has this exhibit exclusively; they signed an agreement to be the American partner of the British Museum, the origin of the exhibit itself.

The exhibit demonstrates how different cultures viewed the Queen of Sheba. Each piece of artwork on display depicted her differently but in all the caricatures her beauty remains constant.

The Queen of Sheba is said to be a combination of myth, symbolism and folklore.

There are more than 100 artifacts featured in the exhibit, and all the pieces are from present day Yemen and Ethiopia. The Queen of Sheba is a legendary figure in the Old Testament who was said to have brought wealth to the court of King Solomon in Jerusalem. Many scriptures from a variety of different religions, like the Bible and the Koran, include the Queen of Sheba.

The legend says that she was the ruler of Saba, and through trade to Jerusalem and the Roman Empire ancient kingdoms prospered under her.

Rick Weinberg, director of public relations at the Bowers Museum, said, "This is an exhibition that's vital for students to see from a personal and educational standpoint."

The exhibit has five rooms, and the displays feature pottery, architecture, jewelry, glass, metal work and death and burial artifacts, which are all from around the first century. Also included are illustrations and film stills that try to draw explanations of the queen.

Although the Queen of Sheba is a legend and may have never existed, this exhibit definitely brings her to life.

There were a few objects in particular that were very interesting, such as "Head Of A Man," which is a bronze head that was lent to the museum by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. There is a drawing of The Queen of Sheba facing The Hoopoe, depicting an important moment in the Koran's tradition. In it, the Hoopoe, Solomon's messenger, delivers a letter from Solomon to The Queen Of Sheba.

Another great bronze piece is the inscribed hand dedicated to the God Talab. It is a depiction of the right hand, which is traditionally regarded as a powerful symbol of good fortune. There is an incense burner showing a camel rider that was acquired in 1936 at the ancient city site of Shabwa.

A silver pair-cased verge watch is also featured, and carved into the watch is a depiction of the Queen of Sheba's arrival at the court of Solomon in Jerusalem. They have an altar with a Sabaean dedication to the deity Rahmaw, and this altar is one of the largest and most important examples of ancient South Arabian metal working.

Another noteworthy piece is a head set in plaster. The face is said to represent a woman, and the eye sockets were set with inlays that have been removed.

The Queen of Sheba exhibit will run through Mar. 13, 2005. The next at the Bowers Museum will be "Mummies: Death and The Afterlife in Ancient Egypt opening April 17, 2005.