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Mosaic floor panel

Unknown2nd century A.D.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City, United States

The rectangular panel represents the entire decorated area of a floor and was found together with another mosaic (now in the Baltimore Museum of Art) in an olive grove at Daphne-Harbiye in 1937. In Roman times, Daphne was a popular holiday resort, used by the wealthy citizens and residents of Antioch as a place of rest and refuge from the heat and noise of the city. American excavations at Daphne in the late 1930s uncovered the remains of several well-appointed houses and villas, including the one that contained this mosaic. At its center is a panel (emblema) with the bust of a woman, decked out with a wreath of flowers around her head and a floral garland over her left shoulder. Traditionally identified as Spring, the figure is probably the representation of a more generic personification of abundance and good living, well suited to the luxurious atmosphere created at Daphne by its rich patrons.

Details

  • Title: Mosaic floor panel
  • Creator: Unknown
  • Date Created: 2nd century A.D.
  • Physical Dimensions: w2514.6 x h2260.6 mm
  • Type: Miscellaneous-Mosaic
  • External Link: MMA
  • Medium: Stone, tile, and glass
  • Provenance Extent: Complete
  • Provenance: Excavated from a villa at Daphne near Antioch in Roman Syria (modern Antakya, Turkey);
  • Period: Imperial
  • Medium Extent: Complete
  • Culture: Roman
  • Credit Line Extent: Complete
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1938

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