This page is referenced by:

• 1 2024-02-15T12:20:57-08:00 Floor Mosaic & the Medieval Globe 17 What the floor mosaic tells us about the medieval globe plain 2024-02-29T12:01:23-08:00 Maggie McCracken, Class of 2025, College of the Holy Cross
  
  • The mosaic has connections to a Pagan past and a Christian present. It 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 in Byzantium and traded to other places for various treasures. 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 where shifting. Compared to the later mosaic of Justinian's court we see the continuation of mosaics but as a wall decoration (different purpose) rather than a floor and different materials for different effects were used.
  • The mosaic shows that the medieval globe shared motifs. For example, the Sarcophagus of Constantina shares the scrolling vines and strutting peacocks (bottom corners)
  • The medieval world supported craftsmen and artists with public and private commissions, this mosaic is an example of a request from a private patron. 
  
   
• 1 media/1936.23.jpg 2024-02-15T11:50:40-08:00 Floor Mosaic Border with Peacocks 12 Item image & label plain 2024-02-29T08:41:13-08:00
  Maggie McCracken, Class of 2025, College of the Holy Cross
  This mosaic was part of a floor in an early 6th century 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 began to be understood in the context of paradise and everlasting life in heaven.
• 1 2024-02-15T12:16:39-08:00 Floor Mosaic Artist 5 Who made the floor mosaic plain 2024-02-28T18:41:48-08:00

  Who made the floor mosaic?

  The exact artist who made this mosaic is unknown. Since it was installed in a private home the artist was most likely contracted. There may have been one person working on the floor but most likely there were multiple under the direction of one person who designed it. Since floor mosaics are part of the architecture of a building it is interesting to consider how a mosaicist might be different from other artists. (S)he does not work in a separate studio, (s)he works in the final location that the piece will be seen. Advantages to this include having a good idea of the shape of the room and lighting.  The artist was adept at creating an image but was also skilled in making the foundation. An artist in the early Medieval period would most likely have been trained partly in a Roman style and partly with Byzantine influence.