The artworks for which the Palmyrans are perhaps best known are their funerary reliefs, or “nefesh”. These rectangular pieces of limestone were carved with ornate scenes – usually depicting the deceased – and were used to block off individuals burial compartments (“cubicula”) in communal underground tombs (“hypogea”). Carved in a generally Mediterranean style, they are made unique by the forms of dress of the persons depicted, and are also influenced by the art styles of western and Central Asia.

This relief depicts the bust of a mature noblewoman, with her head turned slightly to her left. She is wearing an expression between sadness and serenity, with a straight, angular nose, almond eyes under chiselled brows, a rounded chin with a dimple, and set lips. She is dressed in a loose tunic that wraps over her shoulders and folds in a ‘v’ shape across her chest, secured with a heraldic pin on her left breast; she holds a fold of the tunic in her left hand. Her hair is carefully coiffed upwards and sideways, and is topped with a turban with an ornate, jewelled diadem at its base, and what appear to be strands of gems curving off to each side. The turban is carefully draped with a large veil, which hangs to her arms – she is holding a section of it in her right hand – and frames her face perfectly. She is wearing a double necklace with a pendant around her neck, with detailing implying another layer of clothing beneath the tunic. The small figure standing over her right shoulder probably represents her child. He is depicted with a loose tunic tied at the waist and a turban, and is carrying a bunch of grapes. The apparel is therefore an interesting combination of Classical and Asian styles; the accessory figure’s tunic seems to have more in common with Chinese or Persian styles than those of the Mediterranean.