This tag was created by Margaret McCracken. The last update was by Amanda Luyster.
What does the Floor Mosaic tell us about the medieval globe?
- The mosaic's peacocks and grapes have connections both to paganism and Christianity. This shows that the medieval globe was religiously diverse. Later in the medieval period Christ will be depicted explicitly, such as in The Last Judgement painting.
- Limestone and other valuable materials were extracted within the Byzantine empire and traded to other places. The medieval globe utilized natural resources and was connected in a way that allowed other areas to benefit from local resources.
- Roman traditions of mosaics carried over into the Byzantine Empire. The floor mosaic tells us that the empires and styles of the medieval globe were diverse and shifting. Comparing the 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 for different effects -- like gold -- could be used.
- The mosaic shows that the medieval globe 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).
- The medieval world supported craftsmen and artists with both public and private commissions.
