Meditate with an anonymous 3rd century sculptor

In the odor of holiness

Let my prayer before you rise like incense, and my hands like the evening offering. Just close your eyes to imagine.

We are two thousand years ago, in the temple of Jerusalem. An Israelite priest, facing the Holy of Holies, sings this psalm. Thus, he invites pilgrims to contemplate with him the cloud which rises towards the sky. This holy smoke, with sweet or acrid scents, has crossed the centuries and cultures, symbolizing in itself the interior life of the praying person, the desire of his prayer and the elevation of his heart.

In Yemen, in the 3rd century AD, this small limestone altar still bears witness to its regular use. The grains of incense, which make their owners rich, come from trees whose resin has been carefully harvested and dried.

On the basis of this incense burner, a text in the Raydanite dialect of the Sabaean language consecrates the small monument. By dedicating the object to the governor of a local palace, he evokes the need for protection of the king of Sheba, the inhabitants of the city, their cereal lands and their vineyards, against “locusts, damage, storms, spells and enemies”.

Carved on one side, the altar has two small corner towers, recessed rectangular motifs and a dentil plinth. In the center of the pediment, a window opens onto this forgotten world. A geometric shape presents itself to us: a disk above a crescent resting on a triangular base. Unless it is a stylized figure of a priest who, with arms raised to heaven, invokes and celebrates. Living offering of an evening that never ends.