Palmyrene bust at the Getty Museum

PALMYRA WATCH: Ancient Portrait Bust from Palmyra Joins the Collection of the Getty Villa (Dr. Kenneth Lapatin, J. Paul Getty Museum via Brewminate).

Introduction

Hadirat Katthina has come to the Getty Villa. The J. Paul Getty Museum recently acquired the portrait of a woman who lived—and died—in the fabled ancient Syrian caravan city of Palmyra around the years 200 to 220. She is named by an inscription above her left shoulder in the local dialect of Aramaic that also identifies her as the daughter of Sha’ad and ends with the poignant exclamation “Alas.” Similar inscriptions appear on many of the funerary reliefs from Palmyra, sited advantageously at an oasis midway between the River Euphrates and the Mediterranean.

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For many other past posts on Palmyra, its history, the ancient Aramaic dialect spoken there (Palmyrene), and the city's tragic reversals of fortune, now trending for the better, start here (cf. here) and follow the links.

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