Roman Mosaics – Photo Gallery

ROMAN LADY OF LEISURE

Classical Mosaic: A ROMAN LADY OF LEISURE

ROMAN MOSAICS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM

ROMAN MOSAICS: DOLPHIN PANEL

THEMES FOR THE BATHS

Mosaic depictions of dolphins, whales and other aquatic creatures often featured in large scale displays of mythological themes, which usually involved the sea god Neptune, with his distinctive trident – or otherwise the sea creatures were simply portrayed as joyously sporting with mermaids or sea nymphs.

Bathing was an obsession with Romans, who built wonderfully engineered aqueducts to guarantee an abundant supply of water. To the Romans, water was essential to life and well-being - so in keeping with their interest in aquatic themes, dolphins were always much loved motifs, and were commonly used to add interest and colour on the walls and floors of the popular public bathing facilities (thermae) and were usually represented in highly stylised forms.

THE TWISTED ROPE

British Museum May 18 2010 004

THE TWISTED ROPE PATTERN

The “Twisted Rope” pattern was a traditional delineating device, much used by mosaic artists throughout the Roman world. It was picked out with a palette of no more than four muted colours and yet could be used to create a very striking effect, giving depth to a mosaic that would otherwise appear somewhat ”two dimensional” and rather uninteresting.

THE BANK OF ENGLAND MOSAIC

The exquisite mosaic panel above originally decorated the floor of a small Romano-British chamber, dating back to the 3^rd century AD and was found under the north-west corner of the Bank of England. It was acquired by the British Museum in the early 19^th century. It features a good example of how the ubiquitous “twisted rope pattern” border can be used to create “depth” (even though the effect of light direction is totally ignored) .

ROMAN MOSAIC - FLOOR DECORATION

The image above shows a simplified version of the “twisted rope border”, where only two strands are used in this instance, rather than the more usual three stranded version.

ANIMAL MOTIFS

Animal images were often highly stylised by Roman mosaic artists, to the extent that they were more of an abstract conception, emphasising the supposed essence of the particular animal rather than any serious attempt at realism . Caricatures such as Lion Face (shown below) often show a tendency to anthropomorphism that seeks to equate actual wild beasts with mythological monster images.

LION FACE - FLOOR PANEL

HUNTING SCENES

Although not unknown in cities such as Pompeii and Rome, hunting themes were a common theme for the walls and floors of the country villas of wealthy Romans. The depictions were seldom very realisic and were usually highly stylised portrayals of both the hunter and his quarry.

ROMAN HUNTING SCENE - FLEEING LION

ROMAN HUNTING SCENE - THE HUNTER’S DOG

FINE DETAIL PICKED OUT WITH TINY TESSERAE

The Roman mosaic artists were capable of creating work of great complexity and sophistication - to the extent of virtually setting aside the supposed limitations of the medium. Tiny mosaic tesserae blocks were used to achieve complex patterns of highly intricate detail together with incredible nuances of shading. In many instances one could almost swear that the work was executed in oils by an artist of the Rennaisance era. Just look closely at the blush on the cheek of the hero portrayed in the corner of the picture below and the depth of expression captured in the fine detail of his eyes. Who would have thought that such a harmonious effect could be achieved simply by placing cut pieces of natural stone into a cement paste?