Daraya, ancient Dara, is located southwest of Damascus. As is the case with numerous Syrian towns and villages, the settlement is quite ancient, dating at least as far back as the Roman age. It merited an honorable mention by several medieval scholars (Ibn Asakir & Yaqut al-Hamwi among others) as the resting place of more than one Muslim saint, notably Abu Suleiman al-Darani (757-830 C.E.).
The two following reliefs were discovered at Hosh Blas, a location south of Daraya. Both were fashioned in the second or third century C.E. out of limestone with almost identical dimensions of 43-44 x 34 cm. The general configuration is also quite similar with few differences:
The top relief represents a woman holding a baby in her left hand as her right hand is uncovering her breast for the purpose of nursing the hungry little one. While the beauty, physical as well as symbolical, of this work is undeniable, the artist had paid little respect to dimensions and proportions. The infant is way too small relative to his mom and same criticism could be leveled at the size of its head compared with the rest of the body.
The bottom image resembles the top one to a great extent though the hair style and its ornaments are slightly dissimilar and the woman stares in this case to her right. The major difference is, of course, the absence of the child.
The National Museum of Damascus.
The two following reliefs were discovered at Hosh Blas, a location south of Daraya. Both were fashioned in the second or third century C.E. out of limestone with almost identical dimensions of 43-44 x 34 cm. The general configuration is also quite similar with few differences:
The top relief represents a woman holding a baby in her left hand as her right hand is uncovering her breast for the purpose of nursing the hungry little one. While the beauty, physical as well as symbolical, of this work is undeniable, the artist had paid little respect to dimensions and proportions. The infant is way too small relative to his mom and same criticism could be leveled at the size of its head compared with the rest of the body.
The bottom image resembles the top one to a great extent though the hair style and its ornaments are slightly dissimilar and the woman stares in this case to her right. The major difference is, of course, the absence of the child.
The National Museum of Damascus.
Thomas M. Weber
Sculptures from Roman Syria
Wernersche Verlagsgesellschaft. Worms
2006
No comments:
Post a Comment