This content was created by Margaret McCracken. The last update was by Amanda Luyster.

This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page.

OLD Art in an Early Global World at WAM: A WAM/College of the Holy Cross Collaboration

Floor Mosaic border with Peacock

This page is referenced by:

What does the Floor Mosaic tell us about the medieval globe? Maggie McCracken, Class of 2025, College of the Holy Cross
Religiously Diverse
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.Natural Resources & Connections
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.
Diverse & Shifting
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 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 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).

Crafts & Arts
The medieval world supported craftsmen and artists with both public and private commissions.
Floor Mosaic Border with Peacocks (1936.23)
Maggie McCracken, Class of 2025, College of the Holy Cross
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.