Palmyra – On Life, Death and Memory in the Metropolis of the Desert

Centred on the museum’s exceptional collection of Palmyrene funerary portraits – the largest of its kind outside Syria – the exhibition tells the story of life, death and memory in Palmyra.

Situated in the heart of the Syrian desert, Palmyra thrived from the first to the third century CE as a pivotal crossroads linking the Roman Empire, Persia and the trade routes to China, Afghanistan and India. Through the city flowed not only precious goods, but also people, ideas and traditions. The result was an urban culture in which local and global impulses fused into an expression that was at once cosmopolitan and distinctly Palmyrene.

Funerary portraits with a global outlook

The exhibition takes its point of departure in the Glyptotek’s remarkable collection of Palmyrene funerary portraits. Once set into the walls of grand family tombs, these portraits offer a rare insight into how the Palmyrenes wished to be remembered: as citizens of the world, adorned with glittering jewellery, elaborate hairstyles and luxurious textiles. Bilingual inscriptions in Aramaic and Greek attest to a society where identity was shaped across languages and cultures.

From the desert to Europe

For centuries, Palmyra’s beauty and mystery have captivated travellers, researchers and collectors. From the exploratory journeys of the seventeenth century to the archaeological surveys of the nineteenth, the city became embedded in Europe’s imagination of the ‘exotic Orient’. By the late 1800s, many of its funerary portraits had found their way into European museums and private collections – including the Glyptotek. Today, the collection bears witness not only to the history of Palmyra, but also to the cultural and intellectual frameworks that shaped its arrival in Europe.

Between past and future

In recent years, Palmyra has once again become the focus of global attention. The destruction of the city and its ancient monuments during the Syrian civil war underscored Palmyra’s significance – not only for Syrians, but also as a symbol of the fragility of cultural heritage and its entanglement in war and conflict.

The exhibition presents Palmyra in a new light: as a place where past, scholarship and fascination continue to converge, and where history still has the power to forge connections across time and place.