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Palmyra, Syria. Finely carved in high relief as a noble Palmyrene woman, her hair parted at the center and drawn back beneath a tall, neatly pleated veil falling over the shoulders. She wears a tunic beneath a voluminous himation, its deeply incised folds sweeping diagonally across the chest, the left hand grasping the veil at the shoulder and the right gathering the mantle below the breast, secured by a large brooch. The oval face is sensitively modeled with gently arched brows, large almond-shaped eyes, a straight nose, and small pursed lips, the eyes retaining traces of black pigment.
Provenance: The private collection of Jér?me Carcopino, France, and thence by descent within the family. Jér?me Carcopino (1881-1970) was a distinguished French historian, archaeologist, and epigraphist specializing in ancient Rome. From 1913 he lived in Algiers, where he served as director of Algeria’s archaeological museum, before later returning to France to pursue an academic career that included teaching at the Sorbonne and directing the école fran?aise de Rome. He published extensively on Roman history, religion, and archaeology and was elected to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 1930 and the Académie fran?aise in 1955.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Expected wear, obvious losses, natural fissures, remnants of pigment, small chips, scattered nicks, encrustations, and expected weathering.
French Export License: A permanent French certificat d’exportation d’un bien culturel, no. 253066, dated 18 April 2025, has been granted by the French Ministry of Culture. A copy accompanies this lot.
Weight: 40.4 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 51 cm (excl. stand), 55.5 cm (incl. stand)
With an associated stand. (2)
The portraits of Palmyra rank among the most distinctive sculptural achievements of the Roman Near East. During the first three centuries AD, the prosperous caravan city developed extensive communal tombs in which the deceased were placed in individual burial niches, or loculi. These were sealed by limestone slabs carved with portraits of the deceased, transforming the interiors of the tombs into galleries of familial remembrance. The half-length portrait format became especially prevalent from the later 1st century AD onward.
Female portraits placed particular emphasis on dress, jewelry, and gesture. The veil, mantle, and careful arrangement of the hands served not merely as decorative details but communicated the deceased woman's social position and respectable status. Comparable 2nd-century Palmyrene portraits show women grasping or drawing their veils across the body, while the frontal pose and distant gaze lend the figures an enduring, almost hieratic presence. A closely related treatment of the veil and hands may be observed in a Palmyrene limestone funerary relief of circa 150-200 AD in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 44.9 cm high, object no. 02.29.5.
The present bust is particularly distinguished by its large scale and remarkably refined carving. The softly modeled face contrasts with the rhythmic pleats of the veil and broad diagonal folds of the mantle, while the surviving black pigment to the eyes offers a rare impression of the polychrome appearance these portraits originally possessed. At over 50 cm high, the bust approaches life size and belongs to the more imposing examples of Palmyrene portraiture.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related limestone funerary bust of a woman, identified by her inscription as Aqmat, Palmyra, 150-200 AD, 51 x 42 x 24 cm, in the British Museum, London, museum no. 102612, registration no. 1908,0417.1. Compare a limestone funerary relief of a woman, Palmyra, circa 50-150 AD, 50.8 x 38 x 24.8 cm, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, object no. 01.25.1.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s, New York, 8 June 2001, lot 256
Price: USD 44,650 or approx. EUR 74,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Palmyrene limestone bust of a woman, circa mid-2nd century AD
Expert remark: Compare the closely related dating, frontal composition, veil, pendant earrings, shoulder brooch, and closely related positioning of the hands gathering the drapery. Note the similar size (54 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s, New York, 10 June 2010, lot 21
Price: USD 30,000 or approx. EUR 40,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Palmyrene limestone bust of a woman, circa 2nd century AD
Expert remark: Compare the closely related dating, veil and drapery, shoulder brooch, arrangement of the hands, pendant earrings, and particularly the surviving black pigment to the eyes. Note the slightly smaller size (45 cm).
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s, New York, 17 October 2023, lot 104
Price: USD 94,500 or approx. EUR 91,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Palmyrene limestone relief with a portrait bust of a woman, circa late 2nd-early 3rd century AD
Expert remark: Compare the closely related monumental size, frontal presentation, veiled head, deeply folded drapery, and raised hand grasping the mantle. Note the slightly later dating, more elaborate jewelry and similar size (51.4 cm).
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