Floor Mosaic border with Peacock
1 2024-03-28T13:30:37-07:00 Richard Lent 3e723f35a685aebf07b8b602f188f085f3fa0c8f 44801 2 Mosaic of a Vine Scroll Border with Peacocks, Antioch, 526–540 CE, marble and limestone tesserae embedded in lime mortar, Excavation of Antioch and Vicinity funded by the bequests of the Reverend Dr. Austin S. Garver and Sarah C. Garver, 1936.23. plain 2024-07-10T11:33:01-07:00 Zoe Zimmer 726b0bce27fe407b566d2fd9122871e9e9ddcf50This page is referenced by:
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Floor Mosaic Border with Peacocks (1936.23)
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The Floor Mosaic Border with Peacocks (1936.23) is located in the Renaissance Court.
This mosaic was part of a floor in an early 500s home in Antioch (southern Turkey). Mosaics are created by arranging small cubes of stone in mortar. The stones in this mosaic are naturally colored, and there are over a dozen hues. Look closely and you can see how the artist laid the pieces: first creating an outline, and then filling in the spaces on either side. The design suggests movement with the ribbon, waves, and living creatures, including two peacocks. This mosaic was laid during the early centuries of Christianity, and its representation of peacocks and grape vines have meaning both in the pagan and Christian spheres. Peacocks and grape vines were associated with abundance and immortality in paganism, and with the rise of Christianity, both of these forms also began to be understood in the context of Christian paradise and everlasting life in heaven.
Maggie McCracken, Class of 2025, College of the Holy Cross -
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What does the Floor Mosaic tell us about the early global world?
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Religiously Diverse
The mosaic's peacocks and grapes have connections both to paganism and Christianity. This shows that the early global world was religiously diverse. Later in the medieval period Christ will be depicted explicitly, such as in The Last Judgement painting.Natural Resources & Connections
Limestone and other valuable materials were extracted within the Byzantine empire and traded to other places. The early global world utilized natural resources and was connected in a way that allowed other areas to benefit from local resources.
Diverse & Shifting
Roman traditions of mosaics carried over into the Byzantine Empire. The floor mosaic tells us that the empires and styles of the early global world were diverse and shifting. Comparing WAM's mosaic to another mosaic showing the Byzantine emperor Justinian I's court, also completed in the 500s, we see that mosaics can also decorate walls, and different materials -- like gold -- could be used for different effects.
Motifs
The mosaic shows that the early global world shared motifs. For example, the late Roman sarcophagus of Constantina, sculpted in the middle 300s CE, shares the mosaic's scrolling vines and strutting peacocks (look at the bottom corners).
Crafts & Arts
The early global world supported craftsmen and artists with both public and private commissions.
Maggie McCracken, Class of 2025, College of the Holy Cross
