This limestone sculpture was acquired by the National Museum of Damascus during WWII. It was located in a private home in Damascus, where it appears to have stayed for a long time. No precise information regarding its origin could be obtained.
The central figure of the group is a person reclining on a state bed. The head is missing. A section of drapery hanging down the front of the bed bears a three-line inscription:
"In the year 525, Maanôs, son of Libanos, made this offering out of piety."
The high figure of this date can only be reckoned according to the Seleucid era; it corresponds to the year 213–214 CE. One might well wonder whether a monument of such Palmyrene appearance was brought from Palmyra. The donor's commonplace names, the use of the Seleucid era, and the quality of the stone would be just as appropriate for Palmyra as for Damascus. Yet it is difficult to believe that this heavy object crossed the desert only to end up hidden in the Damascene house, where it lay unnoticed. Furthermore—especially in the third century—a Palmyrene donor would likely not have limited himself to a Greek inscription but would have included an Aramaic version as well. It is therefore most reasonable to assume that Maanôs’s votive offering once stood in a sanctuary in Damascus or its immediate vicinity. Palmyrene sculpture—along with that of the Hauran—is the only style known to us through numerous monuments, but we should not conclude that everything resembling it in neighboring regions originated there.
Henri Seyrig. Antiquités syriennes. Syria. Archéologie, Art et histoire Année 1950 27-3-4 (pp. 229-252).
Photo Credit: Marina Milella 1993 (Wikimedia).
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