From the mid-18th century onwards, researchers, diplomats, tourists, settlers, and treasure hunters poured into regions under Ottoman rule, including Mesopotamia and the Levant, with Syria as a key province and cultural node in the empire. These territories were increasingly being mapped and mythologized by European powers as both the cradle of civilization and the biblical East. Motivated by imperial ambition, biblical fascination, and emerging scientific interest in antiquity, European states and actors sought to connect themselves to these lands through archaeology and acquisition.

It is within this complex landscape that the Palmyra Collection at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek was formed. The first major wave of acquisitions, 103 pieces of Palmyrene limestone sculpture and smaller objects such as perfume flasks, was facilitated by Danish vice-consul in Beirut Peter Julius Löytved in the late 19th century. Löytved, who also ran a side business dealing in antiquities, exotic taxidermy, and plant seeds, played a key role in shaping the Glyptotek’s holdings as well as those of other European museums.

This paper traces the formation of the collection based on archival material at Glyptoteket, revealing a network of researchers, diplomats, collectors, and other actors operating within a shadow economy of antiquities. It forms part of wider discussions within the framework of the LoCiS project, connecting local practices of collecting with transimperial networks of knowledge and possession. At the center, alongside Löytved, stands Carl Jacobsen, the brewing magnate and a passionate collector, whose ambitions combined genuine scholarly interest with the competitive drive of an international race to take possession of the past. Together, they exemplify how science, diplomacy, and desire converged in the making of the largest Palmyra collections outside Syria.