This small and heavily eroded limestone relief is among the oldest sculptural artifacts in the Palmyra collection. Carved in shallow relief, it presents a ritual scene featuring two figures engaged in a sacred act.

On the left stands a male officiant clad in a long-sleeved tunic and mantle, depicted in the classic pose of a Palmyrene sacrificer. His right hand, now damaged, once extended toward a pyre to burn incense—only remnants of which survive—while his left holds a libation jug and an incense box. Opposite him approaches a woman, similarly dressed, her head partially veiled by her cloak. She carries a pointed-lid vessel—likely a perfume-burner or ritual casket—offering it to the officiant.

This relief is stylistically and materially linked to a group of early sculptures uncovered from Foundation T in the courtyard of the Temple of Bel at Palmyra. These works predate the formal construction of the temple in 32 CE and were likely reused as building material during later renovations. The relief’s distinctive features—such as the stylized folds of the garments, the deeply grooved necklines, and the braided hair of the female figure—are consistent with this archaic Palmyrene corpus.

A notable feature of this piece is the spatial arrangement of the figures: unlike similar examples where the officiants are shown in strict profile, the male figure here is turned three-quarters toward the female, who remains in profile. This subtle compositional innovation reflects early Palmyrene adoption of Hellenistic conventions in figural representation.