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Document Details : Title: Unpublished Funerary Relief Busts rom Palmyra Author(s): LIPIŃSKI, E. Journal: Orientalia Lovaniensia Periodica Volume: 29 Date: 1998 Pages: 63-74 DOI: 10.2143/OLP.29.0.583562 Abstract : Sculptured portraits with the names of the dead adorn the sides of the sepulchral chambers within lofty towers or house-like buildings which lie outside the city of Palmyra and overlook it from the surrounding hills, a feature characteristically Arabic. Funerary busts that were found in these splendid tombs consecrated to the deceased as “houses of eternity" and that are kept nowadays in public or private collections can rarely be linked with a particular monument of the city of the dead. Yet, each of these portraits reveals a character belonging to a great house and possesses its own social and artistic individuality. This is also the case of the two funerary busts from a private collection in Antwerp province which are published here by the kind permission of their owner. Both reliefs are characterized by some original features and both are inscribed. They are undated, but iconographical traits suggest assigning them to Group III of Palmyrene busts, commonly dated to the period A.D. 200-250/2731. As for the Palmyrene script, it can hardly be regarded as suitable for dating purposes. |
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