2nd-3rd century AD. An irregular pentagonal terracotta theatre token or tessera with figural scenes in relief to both faces: one face with two figures with cups before them, beneath a crescent moon; the other face with largely indistinct scene. See The Metropolitan Museum, accession number 55.109, for similar. 9.3 grams, 33mm (1 1/4"). Ex important Mayfair collection, 1970-1999. Palmyra was founded in the 3rd millennium BC in modern day Syria. It was a very important trading post between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean Sea. The Graeco-Roman tradition and the city’s location on the borders of Roman and Parthian territory created the conditions for a particular culture to develop there, with an interesting syncretism visible in its art. In the 3rd Century AD it became the capital of the short-lived splinter state of the Roman Empire, the Palmyrene Empire, ruled by the legendary queen Zenobia. In 270, Zenobia quickly conquered most of the Roman east, aiming to maintain relations with Rome as a legitimate power, but when she claimed the imperial title for both herself and her son, the Roman emperor Aurelian reacted by conquering Palmyra and capturing the self-proclaimed empress. When a year later the Palmyrenes rebelled, Aurelian decided to destroy the city. Despite its brief existence, the Palmyrene Empire is remembered for having been ruled by one of the most ambitious and powerful women in late antiquity. [No Reserve]