Mosaic of the Doves

The scene is composed of four doves, one of which drinks, balanced on the rim of a bronze bowl. A figure in relief seems to uphold the handle.An astragal pattern recalling architucteral motifs decorates the frame. The mosaic is a figured panel composed of very tiny polychromatic marble and glass tesserae, placed at the center of Hadrianic-period room (émblema). This type of decoration, produced in the Roman period for rich clients, is a distinct from the other kinds of mosaic pavement, thereby constituting its high worth. The émblema is a copy of the work of Sosos, active in Pergamon in the second century BC