Funerary Relief

The Funerary Relief of No’om was constructed circa 170CE in Roman Palmyra, which is present day Syria. The piece includes two main components, an elaborately dressed human woman and an engraved written inscription. The piece is currently located in the Ackland art museum, in the Ancient Art Section, on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The two different elements on the relief are not of equal importance. The woman, who may be No’om, is the focal point of the work. She is the largest aspect of the relief being much grander in scale than the inscription. The representational carving of No’om is also located in the middle of the slab while the inscription is located in the top right. Another difference between the …show more content…
Her almond shaped eyes cover the largest amount of space on her face. Above her eyes are carved domed arches that represent eyelids and above her eyelids are engraved bends that serve as eyebrows. Within the oval shaped eye-sockets are two slightly engraved circles depicting the iris and the pupil, and create the impression the woman is glancing to the side. Her nose protrudes from the rest of her face and consists of two vertical linear lines that originate at the inner corner of her eyes and enclose with a horizontal line slightly above her lips. The lips appear very small and express a neutral …show more content…
Beginning with her headwear, remarkably prominent bands cover her forehead and advance to the top of her head. The band across her forehead is patterned with alternating plants, while the one directly above it doesn’t have an elaborate embroider, but is instead separated by two internal horizontal lines, giving it the appearance of three separate sections. Her hair is wrapped around this band giving it the realistic function of keeping her hair out of her face. Her hair is also tucked behind her ears and eventually extends to the upper part of her chest. The carefully carved curved lines within her hair help give it a flowing movement. The earrings that hang from her ears are elaborately decorated very similarly to the extent of her lowest headband, but it isn’t clear if they show the same pattern. Continuing down her body, her neck appears to be smooth, and her chin is free from it. On her neck hang three separate, highly decorated necklaces. The necklace closest to her chin is the shortest and shows several arrays of small beads all connected by a smoother curved band. The middle necklace is longer and thicker than the first necklace, but is similar in composition. It appears to be made of the same small circles, but instead of separate arrays being connected, all of the beads are connected without a visible separate band. The last necklace is