Gesture and Identity in the Funerary Art of Palmyra Author(s): MAURA K. HEYN Source: American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 114, No. 4 (October 2010), pp. 631-661 Published by: Archaeological Institute of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25763805 . Accessed: 28/10/2014 11:45 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Archaeological Institute of America is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Journal of Archaeology. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 128.148.231.12 on Tue, 28 Oct 2014 11:45:56 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Gesture and Identity in the Funerary Art of Palmyra MAURA K. HEYN Abstract rence of certain to gestures (e.g., the hand raised the The art from a in the eastern or funerary Palmyra, city face the extension of the index and pinkie fingers) Roman offers us a into the creation of a empire, glimpse reveals correlation between these gestures and other social in the aftermath of Roman The identity conquest. characteristics such as familial are on gender, relationships, Palmyrene portraits modeled the Roman funerary and It is that gesture was used to relief but with interesting local variations. For example, profession. likely a num draw attention to of the individual thatwere the deceased in these portraits hold their hands in aspects ber of different positions. An analysis of these gestures important in the local community, and thus provides reveals that some certain of the individu highlight aspects insight into how the local inhabitants defined them als such as and represented, gender, profession, family selves in the social after Roman on changing dynamic connections. The emphasis these characteristics shows to incursions the region. the multifaceted ways in which they defined themselves, moves us differs on the and extent and beyond interpretations of identity that focus Scholarly opinion timing on a dichotomy between local and Roman.* ofRoman control inPalmyra.1 Regardless of the nature of Roman administration, it is clear thatgreat change took place in the cityduring the firstthree centuries INTRODUCTION C.E. went from a Palmyra being small settlement, al The purpose of this article is to discuss the signifi beit thriving, to a city full of colonnaded streets and cance monuments. It went of gesture in the funerary sculpture from Palmy grandiose limestone from be ra, a city in the Syrian steppe that flourished during ing a conglomeration of tribes, for whom tribal af theRoman period. Palmyra is located in an oasis, and filiationwas important, to a community inwhich the many of its inhabitants became quite wealthy by par elite displayed their social status, among other ways, ticipating in the lucrative caravan trade between the by funding various urban projects, thereby receiving centu honorable mention and a statue in a Roman and Parthian empires in the firstthree displayed promi ries C.E. This wealth was then poured into both the nent venue.2 This jockeying for social distinction also monumental architecture of the city and the elabo took place in the necropoleis surrounding Palmyra, rate tombs on its outskirts. Hundreds of relief busts where family tombs were situated along some of the that once adorned these tombswere traded widely on main thoroughfares in and out of the city.3 the antiquities market in the late 19th and early 20th More than 150 tombs are known today in Palmyra: centuries and are found in museums around tower today tombs, underground tombs (hypogea), and theworld. These portraits were carved in high relief "temple" (or "house") tombs.4 Inside all these tombs, on rectangular limestone slabs and used to seal the themost common type of sculpture by far is the in burial niches (loculi) inside the tombs. The deceased dividual portrait bust, carved in high relief on a rect are in these of Palmyra who portrayed portraits display angular limestone slab (ca. 40 x 55 cm). There is a hand A look at the occur certain sameness to these The deceased is interesting gestures. closer portraits. * am at not I very grateful to the vast number of people who have Glyptotek, Waleed Asa'ad the Palmyra Museum, and me at Museum of Art at assisted with this project since its inception in 2006. Sarah least of all Jennifer Talbot the Spencer was an and ran Smith invaluable undergraduate research assistant in the University of Kansas, who put the phone down a to at hands of the in their collec the early stages. In addition, Loeb Classical Library Foun look the Palmyrene portrait me on Fred most of the credit for dation grant enabled to focus the project during the tions. Albertson deserves teasing out the salient in and I am to him summer of 2007. Audiences at the meetings of the Classical points this article, grateful Association of the Middle West and South Southern Section and Editor-in-Chief Naomi J. Norman for their patient assis in tance and feedback this in 2006 and the Archaeological Institute of America 2008, throughout process. 1 as as at a of the see Edwell well those who attended the local talks Pepperdine, For summary discussion, 2008,34-50. 2 at Yon cf. Sommer who for the con Duke, and the University of North Carolina Greensboro, 2002; (2005), argues and museum of in the Roman supplied useful feedback. Curators employees tinuing importance kinship Palmyra during museums from countless around the world provided cheer period. 3Yon 1999. ful and willing assistance. I thank in particular Jonathan Tubb at Schmidt-Colinet at the British Museum, Jan Ostergaard the Ny Carlsberg 4Gawlikowski 1970b; 1997,159. 631 AmericanJournal ofArchaeology 114 (2010) 631-61 This content downloaded from 128.148.231.12 on Tue, 28 Oct 2014 11:45:56 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 632 MAURA K. HEYN [AJA 114 in a frontal men wear a tunic depicted pose?the and parative evidence from relatively intact tombs,12 allow with the of a us to trace trends in the For the cloak, draping the cloak creating sling portraiture. example, for the and the women wear a tunic are right arm, and spindle and distaff popular female attributes up to cloak with a headband and turban underneath a veil themid second century C.E. (fig. 1), but they appear on their heads. Many of the portraits are labeled with much less frequently in the portraits produced after an in Aramaic above the shoul sees a inscription Palmyrene that time,when jewelry corresponding rise in the name Men are be der, giving and genealogy of the deceased. popularity. predominantly clean-shaven A few add the year of death, the date ofwhich isgiven fore 150 C.E. and tend to be bearded beginning in according to the start of the Seleucid era, 312 B.C.E. the second half of the second century (fig. 2). Certain The earliest dated funerary portrait is that of "the gestures, such as the raising of the right hand with wife of Bar'ate," dated to 65/6 C.E.5 The next is that the palm facing outward (see fig. 1), also are favored to in common or of 'Abina, dated 96 C.E. The firstdated male por particular periods, but others remain cm are on traits (only 18 ht.) featured the foundation unusual throughout the period of production. These relief of theTomb of Iarhai, which was founded in 108 patterns allow for conclusions to be drawn about their C.E.6 A date for the end of production is supplied by significance for the identityof the deceased.13 the portrait of Haira, dated to 252/3 C.E.7 PROMINENCE OF GESTURE AT PALMYRA Since the production of these funerary portraits coincides almost exactly with the period of Roman An awareness of the symbolism of gesture is dem dominance in the area, theyprovide valuable insight onstrated in Palmyra by the depiction of hands on into the inwhich the men and women votive altars. Several altars feature a of ways wealthy pair hands, of to Palmyra presented themselves theirpeers during raised vertically, with palms facing outward.14 The a time of change. Evidence from the tombs indicates raising up of both hands in such a way was a common that access was and these were of in Near maintained, portraits gesture worship ancient Eastern and Medi visible to later of the terranean cultures.15 of entire generations family.8Unfortu Depictions figures with most are nately, of these relief busts without context both hands raised have also been found in Palmyra. been from over For of one today,having looted the tombs the last example, the face votive altar features two several hundred As a the contri a woman a years. result, potential full-length figures, and boy, raising both bution of such a rich of to corpus material studies of hands with palms turned outward.16 The full-length as identity,particularly it relates to the family or clan, examples make it likely that the truncated hands on has been significantly curtailed.9 In 1928, Ingholt, in the votive altars refer to the same activity.The hands Studier over alone therefore a PalmyrenskSkulptur, divided the hundreds become "symbolic abbreviation of of undated the whole on Palmyrene funerary portraits into three figure,"17 and their presence the votive al to tar chronological groupings according their stylistic both recalls and perpetuates the act of adoration.18 similarities to the dated examples.10 These groupings Like the gesture of adulation, divine benediction can and (50-150 C.E., 150-200 C.E., 200-273 C.E.), having also be expressed by the hand alone, depicted from the been refined scholars11 as well as com wrist These show that the by subsequent up.19 examples Palmyrenes 13 inv.