Syrian Woman

Syrian Woman

Profile

This portrait from the Riley collection is believed to have been taken off a funerary monument from Palmyra, Syria, in the early third century CE. Based on research of the lives of the Palmyrens and their funerary reliefs, a vague but somewhat accurate picture of the woman can be assembled.

This woman was most likely a freeborn, although lower class, woman. Based on the known trends of Syrian art at the given period, it is likely that the woman had vey little monetary wealth upon her death, explaining the lack of any jewlery besides the headress being depicted in this statue. The woman was probably born in Syria of Arabic descent, and her age at the time of death was somewhere between thirty-five and forty. There are deep lines in her cheeks depicting this aging process, but the lack of other facial wrinkles gives the assumption that she died rather young. Based om the sunken cheekbones and large eyes, as well as the fact that she was most likely poor, it can be assumed that had been in relatively poor health at the time of her death, probably heightened by meager food and strenous activity.

The decpition of the woman's right hand caressing her cheek, although not completely uncommon in Syrian portrature, draws attention to her hand and makes the assumption that she may have worked much with them. From this, it can be speculated that perhaps she was a midwife, an idea that shall assumed for the rest of the profile.

She probably was betrothed early to her husband, possibly as young as six. By fourteen she was married to him, and taken into his home as not just the mother of his future heirs but to help out at the store, as most men of Palmyra are merchants. By fifteen she produced her first child, a son, and at sixteen her second birth ended both in the loss of the child andher own inability to produce further offspring.At the time of her death she was most likely widowed, her husband possibly dying as few as five years ago,but continues to live in the same house with her still unmarried son who by then would be running his father's store.

Because of their low income, she would have had no household slaves, leaving the woman not only with all household responsibilities, but with responsibilities in the store as well.