Mosaic Floor with Orpheus and the Animals, with Four Seasons in the Corners

This mosaic floor originally decorated a room that measured approximately fifteen by twenty feet. The mosaic consists of a colorful central panel (62.AH.2.13) surrounded by a mostly black-and-white geometric field and a patterned border along the outer edges. The central panel is composed of a honeycomb hexagon pattern set within a circle, set within a square. At the center of this composition is a bust of Orpheus wearing a Phrygian cap, with his lips parted and eyes turned to his right. Orpheus is surrounded by six reclining wild animals set in hexagons. To his right is a bear; to his left, a goat; two lions above and two felines below. A double strand guilloche surrounds the large hexagon. Framed in the corners are personifications of the Four Seasons, with Winter, wearing a distinctive red mantle, on the lower right, and following in counterclockwise order, Spring, Summer, and Fall.


The geometric design surrounding the central panel is composed of intersecting black and white circles inset with small crosses. In the corners of this geometric field are four smaller panels of birds set in rectangular frames of stepped triangles. The floor’s outermost border consists of a double strand guilloche and a meander pattern.


During the 1912 excavations the mosaic was cut into twenty-two sections for removal. The mosaic is well-preserved, but it has been restored several times in its long history. Restorations prior to 1941 include the animals, Orpheus’s right shoulder, and the personification of Summer in the upper left.