Channels of Communication and Connections of Style

doi:10.1017/9781009532044.008

8 - Channels of Communication and Connections of Style

Palmyrene Portraiture in Its Wider Context

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2025

Maura K. Heyn

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Rubina Raja

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Rubina Raja: Affiliation:
Aarhus Universitet, Denmark

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Summary

This chapter juxtaposes Palmyrene funerary portraiture with the portraiture of Egypt and Pannonia in the first three centuries AD to discern stylistic connections between the provincial centres as well as to the portraiture produced in Rome. Due to its inherently subjective (and hence, flawed) nature, the notion of style as an interpretative framework has fallen by the wayside in archaeology and art history. This chapter will return to the concept of style and evaluate its helpfulness in determining the significance of Palmyrene funerary portraiture in the context of Roman provincial portraiture. Is it appropriate to describe Palmyrene portraiture as ‘Roman’ in style, or perhaps, ‘eastern Mediterranean’, and at what point does it become ‘Palmyrene’? A better understanding of the place of this portraiture in terms of style, not only in antiquity but also in contemporary analyses of funerary portraiture in the Roman world, enhances our ability to interpret its significance at the local level.

Keywords

funerary portraiture Egypt Pannonia jewellery profession koine visual culture Roman army

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Type: Chapter
Information: Palmyra, the Mediterranean and Beyond , pp. 167 - 186

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009532044.008 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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