This page was created by Margaret McCracken.
Floor Mosaic Purpose
Why was this floor mosaic made, and how was it used?
This piece was made as decoration of a private home. It brought color and design into the room, giving the residents and visitors cause to spend time in the room to admire it. It was also the flooring in that room. Image walking across it in bare feet and it cooling you and the room on a warm Mediterranean day. Also, instead of having packed dirt floors or carpets, the tiles served as a cleanable surface. That is its practical function but it also may have served as an announcement of wealth and had symbolic significance. Vines, a basket of grapes, and creatures especially peacocks are symbols of eternal abundance.Reconstruction of the full floor