Mosaïque de Penthée; visuel (Romaine, Haut-Empire)Musée de la Romanité
This mosaic was discovered in 2007 during rescue excavations on Avenue Jean Jaurès, which took place before the construction of an underground parking lot. They brought to light exceptional remains that document the history of the city of Nîmes.
Reconstitution de la mosaïque de Penthée (Romaine, Haut-Empire) by image OpixidoMusée de la Romanité
This mosaic was discovered in a rich domus (house) with a classical layout where the spaces are arranged around a central court. The maximum size of the house extension is estimated at 10,800 square feet (1,000 square m). The mosaic dates from the second century CE.
Mosaïque de Penthée; visuel (Romaine, Haut-Empire)Musée de la Romanité
Particularly well preserved, the mosaic decorated a luxurious ceremonial hall (triclinium or tablinium), enhanced by wall paintings. A second adjoining room was also decorated with a mosaic floor.
The carpet-like mosaic floor is composed of a series of medallions bordered by double torsades, all decorated with various motifs. This kind of arrangement is more common in Tunisia. The checkerboard pattern corresponded to the location of the klinè (couch).
Mosaïque de Penthée; cratère (Romaine, Haut-Empire)Musée de la Romanité
The lower strip is decorated with rinceaux, a decoration of scrolling leaves, joining in the middle at the foot of a crater. The crater is a vase used in ancient times to mix water and wine, as wine was never consumed pure in Greco-Roman society.
Mosaïque de Penthée; masques (Romaine, Haut-Empire)Musée de la Romanité
Between the medallions two theatrical masks (right and left), Pan, the god of shepherds and flocks (below), and the satyr Silenus (above)—a half-man, half-goat deity, adorn the mosaic.
Mosaïque de Penthée; oiseaux (Romaine, Haut-Empire)Musée de la Romanité
Ellipses depicting four species of birds—duck, partridge, parakeet, and hoopoe—flank the four corners of the medallions.
Mosaïque de Penthée; saisons (Romaine, Haut-Empire)Musée de la Romanité
The octagons are decorated with the seasons, which are regularly used symbols. Spring has its green leaf crown (top), winter is recognizable from its covered head (right), fall is topped by brown crown (bottom), and summer has its ears of wheat crown (left).
Mosaïque de Penthée; ménades (Romaine, Haut-Empire)Musée de la Romanité
The four corner medallions feature the Maenads (Bacchae), half-naked women forming part of the procession of the god Dionysus (Bacchus). They wear a crown of ivy and hold their characteristic attribute, a thyrsus, which is a stick topped by a pine cone.
mosaïque de Penthée (romaine ; haut-empire)Musée de la Romanité
The central medallion illustrates a rarely depicted mythological scene: the murder of the king of Thebes by his mother Agave. He was punished for refusing the establishment of the cult of Dionysus in his city and for having spied on the secret celebrations of the Maenads.
A mosaic is made with tesserae, which are diced stone, marble, glass or terracotta. There are two types of mosaic: the opus tesselatum, where the cubes measure are roughly a quarter of an inch squared (1 to 2 square cm), and the more prestigious opus vermiculatum, which requires much smaller cubes.
The mosaic consists of several layers: one layer of rocks (the statumen), three layers of lime concrete (rudus), and one layer of fine mortar (nucleus). The preparatory drawing is made on the nucleus where the crafter uses a template to carve the patterns.
The tesserae are then positioned and fixed with a lime mortar. Simple geometric patterns are made first, then more complex ones are added. Then the solid areas are filled in.
This mosaic was detached from the site after being mounted on canvas to protect it and cut into panels. It was restored in a laboratory and fixed on a light and resistant medium before being displayed in the museum.
Musée de la Romanité de Nîmes - https://museedelaromanite.fr/
Realization: Ville de Nîmes - Musée de la Romanité
Iconography: © Ville de Nîmes - Musée de la Romanité
Illustrations © Opixido (https://opixido.com/) - Ville de Nîmes - Musée de la Romanité
