DOI Artikel:
Witecka, Anna: Catalogue of jewellery found in the tower-tomb of Atenatan at Palmyra
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26419#0154
76 Anna Witecka - Catalogue of Jewellery found in the Tower-tomb of Atenatan at Palmyra
Provenience:
Material:
Technique:
Condition:
Silver.
Solid casting.
Clasp is gone.
Northern part of the tower.
The earring is in the form of a plain hoop tapering toward the top.
Date: l st cent. - mid of 2 ntl cent. A.D.
This kind of earring has many parallels. The closest are silver earrings found also in the Palmyrene
necropolis, especially in the hypogeum of Zabda (Michaiowski 1959: 200, no. 38). They can be seen on
Palmyrene funerary female busts of Category I (50 - 150 A.D.) as a series of single small rings, four
to as many as fourteen in number, high up on the rim of each ear (Pl.VIII/2; Tanabe 1986: 384, ill. 353).
On some of the portraits they are worn together with earrings in the form of bunches of grapes
(Pl.VIII/3; Tanabe 1986: 381, ill. 350).
Many similar earrings, also in silver, come from the necropolis of Dura-Europos (Toll 1946:
pls. XXXVII - Tomb 6, XLIII - Tomb 23, L - Tomb 33, LII - Tomb 40). Their clasps are well-preserved
and have the tapering end of the earring bent into a loop with the other end passing through it. It is
significant that the intact and partly disturbed female burials contained six earrings of the type on each
side of the head (Toll 1946: 118).
Such earrings might have also formed part of the so-called "ear-covers" which are to be seen on some
Palmyrene portraits, e.g. on the stele of Shalwa, daughter of Yamlu (Pl. IX; Tanabe 1986: 301, ill. 270).
These "ear-covers" extended over the whole rim and lobe of the ear. Sometimes the earring in the shape
of a bunch of grapes occurs in conjunction.
"Ear-covers" have their parallels on Cyprus: they are to be seen on votive figurines from Vouni and
Arsos (ca. 5* cent. B.C.). "Ear-covers" can also be adorned with tiny leaves, as on a statue Ifom
Tricomo, also on Cyprus, now in the Louvre (Mackay 1949: 168). They appear also on an anthropoid
pottery coffin from Amrit (Mackay 1949: 169) and occur on at least one Palmyrene bas-relief, that from
the hypogeum of Ta’ai, now in the National Museum, Damascus (Tanabe 1986: 301, ill. 270).
The dimensions of these rings vary from ca. 10 to 20 mm in diameter. The smallest examples might have
belonged to children or, according to N.P.Toll (Toll 1946: 118), might have adorned head-dresses or
women’s hair. There is, however, no sure evidence of this.
It is noteworthy that earrings in the form of thick rings occur on the wall-paintings from Pompei, e.g.
on the representation of a young woman called the "Poetess", dated to l st cent. A.D. (Nowicka 1988:
ill. VII).
Provenience:
Material:
Technique:
Condition:
Silver.
Solid casting.
Clasp is gone.
Northern part of the tower.
The earring is in the form of a plain hoop tapering toward the top.
Date: l st cent. - mid of 2 ntl cent. A.D.
This kind of earring has many parallels. The closest are silver earrings found also in the Palmyrene
necropolis, especially in the hypogeum of Zabda (Michaiowski 1959: 200, no. 38). They can be seen on
Palmyrene funerary female busts of Category I (50 - 150 A.D.) as a series of single small rings, four
to as many as fourteen in number, high up on the rim of each ear (Pl.VIII/2; Tanabe 1986: 384, ill. 353).
On some of the portraits they are worn together with earrings in the form of bunches of grapes
(Pl.VIII/3; Tanabe 1986: 381, ill. 350).
Many similar earrings, also in silver, come from the necropolis of Dura-Europos (Toll 1946:
pls. XXXVII - Tomb 6, XLIII - Tomb 23, L - Tomb 33, LII - Tomb 40). Their clasps are well-preserved
and have the tapering end of the earring bent into a loop with the other end passing through it. It is
significant that the intact and partly disturbed female burials contained six earrings of the type on each
side of the head (Toll 1946: 118).
Such earrings might have also formed part of the so-called "ear-covers" which are to be seen on some
Palmyrene portraits, e.g. on the stele of Shalwa, daughter of Yamlu (Pl. IX; Tanabe 1986: 301, ill. 270).
These "ear-covers" extended over the whole rim and lobe of the ear. Sometimes the earring in the shape
of a bunch of grapes occurs in conjunction.
"Ear-covers" have their parallels on Cyprus: they are to be seen on votive figurines from Vouni and
Arsos (ca. 5* cent. B.C.). "Ear-covers" can also be adorned with tiny leaves, as on a statue Ifom
Tricomo, also on Cyprus, now in the Louvre (Mackay 1949: 168). They appear also on an anthropoid
pottery coffin from Amrit (Mackay 1949: 169) and occur on at least one Palmyrene bas-relief, that from
the hypogeum of Ta’ai, now in the National Museum, Damascus (Tanabe 1986: 301, ill. 270).
The dimensions of these rings vary from ca. 10 to 20 mm in diameter. The smallest examples might have
belonged to children or, according to N.P.Toll (Toll 1946: 118), might have adorned head-dresses or
women’s hair. There is, however, no sure evidence of this.
It is noteworthy that earrings in the form of thick rings occur on the wall-paintings from Pompei, e.g.
on the representation of a young woman called the "Poetess", dated to l st cent. A.D. (Nowicka 1988:
ill. VII).