PALMYRENE. Palmyra. 1st-3rd centuries AD. Tessera (Bronze, 35x26 mm, 39.94 g, 12 h). Facing female bust, wearing kalathos, both hands before chest, holding palm frond in her left; to upper left and right, stars; below, [..]𐡂𐡃𐡇𐡔𐡇 (?) (GDHŠ... in Aramaic). Rev. Three elongated objects (torches?); above, BM (?) (in Nabataean script). A wonderful and extremely unusual bilingual banquet tessera. Nearly extremely fine.


The well-known Palmyrene banquet tesserae are made mostly of clay, though metal examples are occasionally attested. They functioned as one-time invitation and entry tokens for banquets hosted by the local elite - an idiosyncratic form of ritual hospitality much discussed in scholarship. This piece is notable for its careful execution in bronze, its unusual iconography, and its apparently bilingual inscriptions.

On the obverse, an Aramaic legend can tentatively be read as GDHŠ[…], which may point to Gad (gd), Palmyra’s protective and fortune-bringing power, either named directly or invoked in a theophoric personal name. The bust, accordingly, seems to follow a Gad/Tyche type: the tall headdress (polos/kalathos?) recalls Greco-Roman Tyche, while the palm branch emphasizes prosperity and victory. The reverse legend remains uncertain; BM is a possible reading in Nabataean, accompanied by the familiar circular symbol with downward extensions found on many Palmyrene tesserae. Overall, the object reflects the cultural and linguistic mix of the Palmyrene oasis as a crossroads between the Mediterranean and the Near East.