On 2 December 2020, the Day of Palmyra in the Hermitage, the exhibition “Two Palmyras. Archaeology” was opened in the Winter Palace.
The display in the Hall of the Culture of Palmyra (Hall 91) reveals some of the chapters in the history of the study of this majestic city from late Antiquity. The basis of the exhibition is provided by the Hermitage’s Palmyrene collection, funerary reliefs and fragments of sculpture, the famous Customs Tariff (a large stone slab bearing an inscription in Greek and Aramaic), coins and tesserae, archaeological materials and drawings of the architectural edifices of Palmyra. The exhibition makes it possible to take a fresh look at the familiar permanent display, supplemented by items that are not usually on show in the hall.
A major role in the study of Palmyra was played by the Russian Archaeological Institute of Constantinople. Systematic scientific exploration of the site dates back to the year 1900, when the RAIC sent a special expedition there. The collection of gravestones assembled by the RAIC formed the basis of the Hermitage’s stocks of Palmyrene antiquities.
At various times, scholarly interest in the antiquities of Palmyra has been shown by researchers from many countries. Excavations have been conducted on its territory by some outstanding archaeologists, acknowledged experts on the classical cultures of the Mediterranean region. At present, archaeological exploration at Palmyra has been suspended due to the civil war in Syria, and the majority of its priceless edifices have been partially or completely destroyed.
The present-day period in the study of Palmyra is represented by a drawing made by the architect and graphic artist Maxim Atayants depicting the Arch of Triumph. Maxim Atayants’s Architectural Studio was involved in the creation of a 3D model of Palmyra and a virtual reconstruction of one of its most famous edifices – the Temple of Bel.
When declaring the exhibition open, Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage, said: “We are rounding off the Day of Palmyra that has taken place despite the cancellation of the Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum, of which it was a part. We decided to hold it nonetheless: we hosted a closed round table discussion with experts participating devoted to the revival of Palmyra, held a plenary session in the problem of preserving UNESCO World Heritage sites, and have already opened two exhibitions – ‘Two Palmyras. Architecture’ and ‘Two Palmyras: Real and Virtual’ that are a part of this special day. And now we are opening our third exhibition – ‘Two Palmyras. Archaeology’. For this notable occasion we have prepared a book entitled Palmyra in the Hermitage. The author is a curator of the exhibition, Alexander Nikitin.
“The Day of Palmyra in the Hermitage is indeed a notable occasion, because we have been speaking in various forms about how Palmyra is connected to the museum and the way that those connections are important. The Hermitage possesses a remarkable collection of artefacts from Palmyra, including the famous Palmyrene Tariff. The study of the Tariff is a special and glorious chapter in the history of oriental studies in this country. The names of Kokovtsev, Zeimal, Shifman, Abamalek-Lazarev and, of course, Alexander Borisovich Nikitin, all those who have researched Palmyra and whose works are also exceptional, because they are devoted to the Palmyrene Customs Tariff that is in the Hermitage. Nowhere else in the world is there such an artefact!
“The exhibition presents a detailed account, illustrated with photographs, of the removal of the Tariff and its transportation by Khuri, who brought the artefact by ship to Russia. This remarkable addition to the Hermitage collection was, as we now understand, the salvation of the Tariff, because it is impossible to imagine now those large steles standing on the central square of the ancient city at the moment of its capture by the ISIS militants who wrecked, blew up and shot up buildings and monuments. The Tariff is a superb artefact for the political and economic history of the East, and generally for the history of the collection of taxes and customs duties. Besides that, it is also an important written source. It is a treasure that also has a modern-day dimension – several copies have been made of the Tariff, one of the latest being produced using cutting-edge technologies. One copy of the Hermitage’s Palmyrene Tariff is kept in a museum in Damascus; another, which was at Palmyra itself, has perished.
“We are concluding our Day of Palmyra in the Hermitage with this visit to both the Tariff and the Palmyrenes whose depictions, seemingly alive, can be found on the walls in this hall. They have been listening all day to what we have been saying about Palmyra and I think they would approve the six-point recommendation that our gathering proposed to UNESCO and the government of Syria.
“I invite people to continue the Day of Palmyra with visits, virtual and real, to the Hermitage, keeping in mind that we are the Northern Palmyra, and we became so thanks to Empress Catherine the Great, who was compared to Zenobia, the great queen of Palmyra, while our city, which sprang up amid the marshes, was compared to ancient Palmyra, born amid the sands of the desert, and just like Palmyra we need to have people care for us.”
Present at the opening were Natalia Solovyeva, Deputy Director of the Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of its Department of Protective Archaeology, Maxim Atayants, Head of Maxim Atayants’s Architectural Studio; and the exhibition’s curators – Natalia Kozlova, Head of the State Hermitage’s Department of the East, and Alexander Nikitin, senior researcher in the Department of the East.
A scholarly illustrated publication in Russian, Pal’mira v Ermitazhe, has been prepared for the exhibition (State Hermitage publishing house, 2020 – 152 pp., ill.). It was written and compiled by Alexander Nikitin and has a foreword by Mikhail Piotrovsky.
The exhibition will run until 24 January 2021.
The exhibition can be visited during the museum’s opening hours by holders of tickets to the Main Museum Complex for Fixed Route No 1 (entry by the Jordan Staircase) and Fixed Route No 2 (entry by the Church Staircase). Access is through the Rastrelli Gallery.
Follow this link to view a video of the opening ceremonies for the exhibitions on the Day of Palmyra.
