‎ Olympia Bobou, Rubina Raja ‎
‎Palmyrene Sarcophagi‎

‎, Brepols, 2023 Hardback, 2 vols, 1003 pages, Size:216 x 280 mm, Illustrations:722 b/w, 95 col., 1 tables b/w., 2 maps b/w, 9 maps color, Language: English. ISBN 9782503604664.‎

Reference : 63525

‎Summary While the funerary portraiture of Palmyra is rightly world-renowned, up to now, the corpus of sarcophagi from the ancient city has received relatively little attention as a cohesive group in their own right. Comprising sarcophagi, banqueting reliefs and founder reliefs, as well as sarcophagus reliefs, most of these objects share a common iconographic motif, that of the banquet, although other scenes, mostly drawn from the daily life of the city's caravan leaders and their families, also appear. The emphasis on the banqueting scene in particular reveals the crucial importance of dining in ancient Palmyrene society: for the living, banquets were a marker of social standing and gave hosts a chance to honour the gods and offer an ephemeral benefaction to their fellow citizens, while for the dead, the banquet motif offered the opportunity for the entire family to be depicted together and showcase their wealth and sophistication, as well as their connections outside the city. This single corpus of material gathered through the Palmyra Portrait Project, is presented in this beautifully illustrated two-volume monograph. Through careful analysis of the portraits, and the costumes and attribute choices that appear in these images, the authors explore how the sarcophagi were used by Palmyrenes to project an image of local pride, while at the same time participating in the visual cultures of the Roman and Parthian Empires between which their city was situated. TABLE OF CONTENTS Volume 1 List of Figures Colour Plates Acknowledgements Chapters 1. Palmyra and its Funerary Sphere 2. The Portrait Habit in Palmyra and the Funerary Sphere 3. Dated Objects 4 In situ Contexts 5. Iconography Appendix: The Costume of Reclining Figures 6. Conclusion: Sarcophagi as Vehicles of Elite Identity Works Cited Catalogue Dated by Inscription (Cat. 1-12) Objects from Tower Tombs (Cat. 13-59) Objects from Hypogea (Cat. 60-179) Objects from Temple Tombs (Cat. 180-277) Credits Text Image Credits Catalogue Image Credits Volume 2 Colour Plates Catalogue Objects with Indication of General Context (Cat. 278-288) Sarcophagi with No Known Provenance or from Secondary Contexts (Cat. 289-444) Sarcophagi Reliefs (Cat. 445-450) Fragments from either Sarcophagus Lids or Boxes (Cat. 451-476) Possible Sarcophagus Fragments (Cat. 477-488) Heads from Sarcophagi (Cat. 489-683) Banqueting Reliefs (Cat. 684-729) Appendix 1. Lost Dated Reliefs Appendix 2. Lost Reliefs from Tower Tombs Appendix 3. Lost Reliefs from Temple Tombs Appendix 4. Marble Sarcophagi from Attica Appendix 5. Sarcophagi without Portraits Appendix 6. Objects Known Only through Publications Appendix 7. Reliefs with Frame, without Portraits Credits Catalogue Image Credits‎