H5 Mosaics Notes

Art under the Roman Empire, AD 14-337

Week 11: Mosaics (1)

Essay question

Why do regional differences in mosaics occur?

General background

The appearance of mosaics in the Roman empire varies considerably. Although part of this variation is due to
factors such as the social function of mosaics and their role in decorative programmes (subjects that will be
examined in next week’s tutorial), it is also important to consider the influence of factors beyond the confines
of the home. In analysing regional diversity you may wish to discuss the significance of the different skill levels
of the craftsmen involved, access to natural resources, and the influence of different traditions and decorative
tastes. You may also wish to consider whether regional variation in patrons’ lifestyles and cultures may be
important. The high number and inconsistent publication of Roman imperial mosaics means that a case-study
approach is advisable; you are welcome to focus on examples from North Africa if you wish.

Bibliography

Clarke, J.R. (1991) The Houses of Roman Italy 100BC – AD250. Ritual space and decoration. University of
California Press ***
 28 – House of the Muses
Dunbabin, K.M.D. (1979) ‘Technique and materials of Hellenistic Mosaics’, American Journal of Archaeology 83,
265-77
Dunbabin, K. M. D. (1978) The Mosaics of Roman North Africa. Oxford ***
Dunbabin, K. M. D. (1999) Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Cambridge University Press ***
 101 - Latin speaking provinces ran from Tripolitania in the East to the Atlantic coast in Mauretania
 Most mosaics preserved here than any other region which shows not only the favourable climate and
the fact there are no major cities on top, but also the wealth and importance of the area
 Area neither administratively or culturally unified – wealthy regions around Africa Proconsularis, while
Numidia and Mauretania very mountainous and harsh, and trading cities more Spanish
 Use of mosaic here antedates the Roman conquest – Punic Carthage has mortar and aggregate
pavements with reddish tint decorated with chips or tesserae sometimes in motifs like Sign of Tanit
 103 - In 1st C AD signs of Romanisation in Mosaic are found (Carthage defeated in 146 BC) such as the
black and white geometric styles in Utica
 Earliest examples must have been the work of craftsmen imported from Italy
 In the early 2nd C AD the growing frequency of these floors suggests workshops in several centres
on/near the coast – Thysdrus, Hadrentum etc.
 Early works have been characterised as ‘Severe Style’ – austere black and white designs, occasionally
using colour to enhance borders or individual motifs
 Richer polychrome designs more for important settings like the House of the Cascade at Utica which
favours opus sectile in the grandest rooms (though still geometric)
 Black and white continued to be used for simpler or cheaper decoration through the next centuries
but mainstream was then polychrome – rich supply of coloured limestone available in most parts
 Yellows, pinks and ochres in the marble quarries of Simitthus, and then also olive green give the
mosaics of Proconsularis their characteristic tonality
 Every sort of geometric design rendered; first specifically African style is the addition of stylised
vegetal elements
 Antecedents are Italian e.g. black and white arabesques found in Villa of Hadrian or Ostia in 120s-30s
 Mosaics based on these designs can be found in Byzacena probably not long after their introduction in
Italy, and are taken to great elaboration above their predecessors
 104 - See Acholla in Baths of Trajan – pavements with designs in limited polychromy and one in the
simpler Floral Style, but the frigidarium pavement shows concentric friezes surrounding trapezoidal
panels
 The floor looks to reflect the architecture of vaults, and so we may assume that the roof was created
in this way
 Floral scrolls, heraldic animals and grotesque little mannikins in half-human, half-vegetal form are like
the motifs on delabrums, echoing vaults again, and these form the bands
 In between these are friezes, recalling friezes on wall mosaics, and showing the Battle of the Centaurs,
while the inner frieze shows satyrs and maenads
 Long rectangle shows Nereids and sea-monsters, and medallions in the middle strip show the seasons
 Central panel has self-contained scene of the triumph of Dionysus in a chariot drawn by centaurs
 Type of composition is without parallels in floor mosaics in Africa or Italy so seems to have taken
inspiration from walls and vaults – yellow limestone gives a similar effect of gilded stuccoes on a
white ground
 Possibly introduced by craftsmen trained in walls or vaults as well
 105 – House of the Triumph of Neptune – 150-70 AD – shows figured mosaics in three main reception
rooms, Floral Style in other areas with richer effect needed such as cubicula and all others have
geometric designs from elaborate polychrome to B&W
 Workshop responsible for these also active at Thysdrus as several patterns here and in other sites in
the vicinity are identified as characteristic
 House of the Dionysiac Procession at Thysdrus seems to be an intermediary between Trajan Baths
and House of Triumph of Neptune
 106 - Mosaics cover large portions of the
Joyce, H. (1981) The Decoration of Walls, Ceilings, and Floors in Italy in the Second and Third Centuries AD.
Rome.
Kondoleon, C. (1995) Domestic and Divine: Roman Mosaics in the House of Dionysos. New York and London
Kondoleon, C. (2000) The Lost Ancient City. Princeton esp. 63-77
Levi, D (1947) Antioch Mosaic Pavements. Princeton
Ling, R (1998) Ancient Mosaics. British Museum Press, London ***
L’Orange, H. P. L. and Nordhagen, P. J. (1966) Mosaics.Methuen, London
Neal, D.S.; Cosh, S.R. (2002) Roman Mosaics of Britain. London
Smith, D. (1983) ‘Mosaics’ in M. Henig (ed.) A Handbook of Roman Art. London. 116-139 ***
 Chapter confined to 1st 4 C AD and concerned with decorative pavements of opus tesselatum or
roughly shaped cubes of marbles, stone and tiles and sometimes clear or coloured glass
 Set on mortar and then grouted and polished
 Developed in 3rd C BC in Greece, largely black or colour on white ground and then sometimes
polychrome centrepiece or figured panel – well established before 100
 Some saw these as a means of copying or imitating paintings – used tiny tesserae and used coloured
marble to get this effect
 Opus vermiculatum used by Sosus in his doves on a bowl and ‘unswept floor’ (150-100BC)
 121 – B&W tradition was popular in Italy in the earlier 1st C to the later 3rd – seen in 450 mosaics in
Ostia but found pretty much everywhere
 These monochrome mosaics are often versions of the geometric patterns seen at Antioch and
elsewhere in the Hellenised world
Wilson, R.J.A. (1983) Piazza Armerina. Austin

Previous exam questions related to this topic
· What, if anything, is specifically North African about North African mosaics? (2008)
· Discuss the development, nature, and use of mosaics in Italy in the imperial period. (2007)
· How would you account for regional differences in mosaic decoration? (2006)

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Art under the Roman Empire, AD 14-337

Wilson, R.J.A. (1983) Piazza Armerina. Austin

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