Scene from the Nile Mosaic of Palestrina

Around 1600, a mosaic floor was discovered in the ‘Apsidal Room’ in the sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia in Palestrina. The mosaic depicted Nile landscape scenes, hunting scenes and scores of animals. The well-preserved floor was of a considerable size (depth: 4.35 m, width: 6.87 m) and was raised between 1624 and 1626 under the orders of Cardinal Andrea Peretti, a procedure that could only result in fragments. Some parts of the mosaic remain in situ. The raising of the floor, which was carried out without creating a record of the original composition beforehand, marked the start of the chequered fate of this exceptional mosaic. After its fragmentation, some parts remained in Palestrina, in the Palazzo Baronale, which was later sold along with the mosaics it contained while other sections were brought to Rome. In 1628 a panel was presented as a gift to Francesco de Medici during a visit to Rome. This mosaic, depicting a banquet beneath a pergola, ended up in the possession of the scholar Anton Francesco Gori in 1747 before making its way into the collection of the Marchioness von Bayreuth, the sister of Frederick the Great. When she died in 1758, the fragment was brought to Potsdam and was on display in the Antikentempel at Sanssouci until 1797. When the Altes Museum was founded, it was moved to form part of the Berlin collection. The sections that remained in Rome were pieced together in 1640 and the missing fragment was replaced by a copy. The last time reconstruction work took place on the greater part of the mosaic was in 1952. It was necessary as the mosaic had been damaged in the war. It can now be found in the Palazzo Barberini, the museum of Palestrina. The Berlin fragment depicts a banquet under a pergola. On box-shaped, upholstered klinai, positioned on the banks of the Nile, two groups of people are seen drinking and making music. The Nile had burst its banks as we can tell by the luscious vegetation that characterises this happy time of year. The banquet scene was originally positioned in the lower half, left-of-centre, or a little further to the right. The overall composition of the entire floor was divided into two zones. Due to its wonderful execution, we can tell that one half was supposed to represent Egypt and the other Ethiopia. Several theories abound on the interpretation and dating of the Nile mosaic. The period in which it was created is closely connected with the complicated history surrounding the construction of Palestrina around 100 BCE. It has been assumed that an illustrated travel report, envisaged in the form of a scroll, could have served as the template for the mosaicists. Under Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt, an expedition was undertaken in the 3rd century that aimed to capture rare and unknown animals alive to bring them back to Alexandria. The mosaic bears depictions of no less than forty animals. The sanctuary of Fortuna in Palestrina is a masterpiece of ancient architecture and was constructed around the middle of the 2nd century BCE. Below it there lies another complex, containing a public area, perhaps a forum, which may have included a cult site for the Egyptian god Isis. The Nile mosaic was displayed in the eastern building and thus commanded a magnificent location in the city.