Nature: terracotta tessera
Dimensions: H.: 2.66 cm; L.: 2.90 cm.; Thickness: 1.11 cm
Origin: Palmyra
Date: 1st-3rd centuries CE
Writing: Inscription in the Palmyrene alphabet
Language: Palmyrene, dialect derived from Aramaic
Inventory number: AO 1984
The front of this tessera, an entry token for a public or private gathering, such as funeral ceremonies or banquets, depicts a priest recognisable by his headdress, called a modius, dressed in a toga and reclining on a couch with cushions, most likely at a banquet. He seems to be sitting under a stylised trellis which perhaps represents the garden where the banquet took place or which is perhaps a symbolic representation of life after death, since ivy symbolises eternal life. On the back, two servants in tunics stand on either side of a large krater from which they draw wine. Each stands close to a jug and a small incense altar. Above them, an oval seal-stamp of a naked figure has been used to authenticate the tessera.