Reanimating the tomb: Interpreting Palmyra’s banquet reliefs in context

This thesis focuses on banquet scenes from the tombs of Roman Palmyra, Syria – relief sculpture depicting the deceased reclining on a kline, surrounded by his family in a commemorative tableau of elite values. In response to the scattering of thousands of pieces of Palmyrene funerary sculpture in mu...

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Main Author: Honeker, Kate
Format: Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
Language:English
English
Published: 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/73119/
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author Honeker, Kate
author_facet Honeker, Kate
author_sort Honeker, Kate
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description This thesis focuses on banquet scenes from the tombs of Roman Palmyra, Syria – relief sculpture depicting the deceased reclining on a kline, surrounded by his family in a commemorative tableau of elite values. In response to the scattering of thousands of pieces of Palmyrene funerary sculpture in museums across the world, this research explores meaning in the reliefs as impacted by, and inherently tied to, its original funerary context. Taking a holistic approach, iconographic study of tomb sculpture and wall painting is utilized alongside analysis of grave goods and tomb architecture to build a fuller picture of eschatological belief and mortuary activity connected to these spaces. Closing with a case study of the Hypogeum of Bolha and Borrefa, the banquet reliefs within are presented as the centrepiece of a dynamic, sensory space in which multiple elements interact and contribute to the overall construction of meaning.
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format Thesis (University of Nottingham only)
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institution University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
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language English
English
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publishDate 2023
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spelling nottingham-731192023-07-20T04:40:14Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/73119/ Reanimating the tomb: Interpreting Palmyra’s banquet reliefs in context Honeker, Kate This thesis focuses on banquet scenes from the tombs of Roman Palmyra, Syria – relief sculpture depicting the deceased reclining on a kline, surrounded by his family in a commemorative tableau of elite values. In response to the scattering of thousands of pieces of Palmyrene funerary sculpture in museums across the world, this research explores meaning in the reliefs as impacted by, and inherently tied to, its original funerary context. Taking a holistic approach, iconographic study of tomb sculpture and wall painting is utilized alongside analysis of grave goods and tomb architecture to build a fuller picture of eschatological belief and mortuary activity connected to these spaces. Closing with a case study of the Hypogeum of Bolha and Borrefa, the banquet reliefs within are presented as the centrepiece of a dynamic, sensory space in which multiple elements interact and contribute to the overall construction of meaning. 2023-07-20 Thesis (University of Nottingham only) NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/73119/1/Reanimating%20the%20tomb%20-%20Interpreting%20Palmyra%E2%80%99s%20banquet%20reliefs%20in%20context%20%5Bwith%20images%5D.pdf application/pdf en cc_by https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/73119/2/Reanimating%20the%20tomb%20-%20Interpreting%20Palmyra%E2%80%99s%20banquet%20reliefs%20in%20context%20%5Bwithout%20images%5D.pdf Honeker, Kate (2023) Reanimating the tomb: Interpreting Palmyra’s banquet reliefs in context. MRes thesis, University of Nottingham. Funerary sculpture; Palmyra; tombs; banquet reliefs; Roman Syria
spellingShingle Funerary sculpture; Palmyra; tombs; banquet reliefs; Roman Syria
Honeker, Kate
Reanimating the tomb: Interpreting Palmyra’s banquet reliefs in context
title Reanimating the tomb: Interpreting Palmyra’s banquet reliefs in context
title_full Reanimating the tomb: Interpreting Palmyra’s banquet reliefs in context
title_fullStr Reanimating the tomb: Interpreting Palmyra’s banquet reliefs in context
title_full_unstemmed Reanimating the tomb: Interpreting Palmyra’s banquet reliefs in context
title_short Reanimating the tomb: Interpreting Palmyra’s banquet reliefs in context
title_sort reanimating the tomb: interpreting palmyra’s banquet reliefs in context
topic Funerary sculpture; Palmyra; tombs; banquet reliefs; Roman Syria
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/73119/