The bust of Yarhai is a very fine example of the funerary slabs decorated with a high-relief bust of the deceased that were used to seal the loculi - the niches where the dead were placed in the tombs. The bust of Yarhai, whose name and genealogy are inscribed above his left shoulder, is striking for the subject’s extraordinarily opulent attire, with an overtunic decorated with two bands of embroidered vine-shoots where putti gather grapes.
Nature: High relief in limestone
Dimensions: H.: 52 cm; L.: 44 cm; D.: 24 cm
Origin: Palmyra
Date: Late 2nd century CE.
Writing: Inscription in the Palmyrene alphabet
Language: Palmyrene, dialect derived from Aramaic
Inventory number: AO 2398
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