Palmyrene Banquet Scenes:A Comparative Study of the Sculptural and Archaeoligical Materials

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25370892
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Archaeology
• Research Institution: Kokushikan University
• Principal Investigator: MIYASHITA SAEKO 国士舘大学, イラク古代文化研究所, 共同研究員 (80132760)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: パルミラ / 墓 / 彫像 / 饗宴図 / 持ち物 / 沓

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Palmyra, a city in the Syrian Desert, grew rich from the caravan trade during the first three centuries of our Era. Characteristics of the Palmyrene art can best be observed in three main types of funerary sculptures: plaques with relief carvings,sarcophagi and the funerary statues.
For this study, I investigated Palmyrene sculptures kept in museums in Italy, Turkey, the U.K.,and Russia. The focus of my study was the container held by the main figure in the banquet reliefs. Based on my comparative study of containers similar to ours that have been unearthed in the Mediterranean and West Asiatic world, I suggest that the container held by the main figure in the Palmyrene banquet reliefs was not a glazed pottery but was made of either glass or metal. Some citizens of Palmyra were wealthy enough to afford to use metal and glass ware in the banquet. Incidentally I have also noted some eastern influence in the footwear the main figure of banquest scenes of Palmyra.

Free Research Field

西アジア美術考古学