Tuesday, July 22, 2025

Zenobia - ʿIštār

 


The interpretation of this bas-relief is far from certain. Britannica identifies the seated woman as Queen Zenobia and the one standing at her left as a slave attendant. The Virtual Museum of Damascus, on the other hand, recognizes the goddesses ʿIštār and Tyche, respectively; the former trampling a defeated man under her feet while a dog bites on the hem of her dress. The bent right elbow of the goddess/queen rests on an embroidered pillow while an eagle, erect on the top of a column to her right, deploys his wings. Neither the date nor the names of the two personalities is provided in the dedicational Palmyrene inscription at the bottom, though, according to the Virtual Museum and ʿAdnān al-Bunnī, the style of the clothes and the sculpture point to the first or second century CE, effectively ruling out Zenobia. 

Source: Palmyra, Temple of Nebu. Excavated in October 1964. 
Substance: limestone. 
Dimensions: height 90 cm, base 68 cm, depth 12 cm. 
Photo: Dīnā al-Badawī.
Collection of the National Museum of Damascus


Highlights of the National Museum of Damascus. DGAM (Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées de Syrie). Ministère de la Culture, 2006.

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