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on our relief, with the little finger bent in the same peculiar way.(93) On some of the busts(94) the object does not seem to continue beyond the hand as one would expect if it were intended for a sword ; however, the busts with the whips, camels and horses would seem to favor that interpretation. If the lack of indication of the sword proper under the hand is not simply due to the carelessness of the sculptor, the object in these cases might be some kind of amulet, a

The himation folds of triangular form and the treatment of the eyes suggest a date in the first group; on the other hand, the short beard and curly forehead locks are found on a small number of busts which probably date very near the year 150 A.D., a time when old and new traditions met in the Palmyrene sculpture.

VI

Male bust, still in commerce, with a Palmyrene inscription of six lines to the right of the head (pl. X, 2) :

"Vahbâ, (son of) 'Abd'áa, (son of) Bûlî, alas! Year 466."(96) Represented as an unbearded man, Vahbâ has on his head a modius decorated with a wreath, in the center of which is a rosette. Two deep furrows cross his head, the irises are circumscribed by two incised circles, the costume is arranged as on the bust of Yarhibôlâ (see bust nr. 11) and the position of the hands is likewise the same. The left hand holds both a schedula and a fold of the himation, as in the case of Yarhibôlâ, and is even decorated with two finger rings, one on the little finger and one on the second. The himation folds on the left shoulder resemble those on the bust of Yarhibôlâ, but on the right upper arm they are of the earlier triangular type. The treatment of the eyes and these folds would indicate a date in the first group, while the folds on the left shoulder and upper arm rather argue for a date in the second group. The date given in the inscription, 466 according to the Seleucidan era, that is 154-55 A.D falls thus in the early years of the second group, and corresponds consequently very well to the date one would have proposed for this bust had it been undated.

93. The bust from the Bertone Collection, see note 92.
94. Studier, p. 103, PS 116-18.
95. Similar hair, beard and eyes: Studier, p. 111, PS 191-192; Bertone Collction, nr. 663 - Studier, PS 194-Seyrig, Syria, XIV, 1933, 		    pl. XX, 1 and 2. Similar treatment of eye and beard: Choix, pl. XXX, 13; Studier, p. 108, PS 164- Studier, p. 116, PS 227.
96. 1 owe the photograph reproduced on pl. X, 2 to the kindness of Dr. Gustave Ginestet, formerly of Damascus.

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