Arte - The 1001 Faces of Palmyra (2020)

For the first time archaeologists from around the world come together in search of funerary sculpted portraits of Palmyra disseminated around the world to recount the story of the ancient city in a way that has never been done before through the faces of the city's inhabitants. 2000 years ago Palmyra was a flourishing city in the desert and an important trading centre between Europe, the Middle East and Asia. This prosperous past can be seen in the many funerary portraits of Palmyrene citizens made at this time. Today these fascinating works of art are scattered across the globe in public and private collections. Danish archaeologist Rubina Raja wants to catalogue these portraits and hopes to give a better insight into this unique artistic tradition. The exploration of the inner secrets of these sculptures retraces the origin of the city's commercial success, its unique language and specific writing, its environment that mixes Eastern and Western influences gradually revealing the city's multiculturalism and the fascination aroused by the city throughout the centuries, which gave rise to so many myths, so many legends, and an exceptional artistic expansion. Palmyra is one of the rare examples of the global integration in the history of mankind.

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