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Roman

Floor mosaic fragment depicting Silenus, 325-330

Now On View

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

Roman

Title

Floor mosaic fragment depicting Silenus

Year

325-330

Medium

Limestone and glass tesserae

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • mosaic

Dimensions

122.6 x 118.1 cm (48 1/4 x 46 1/2 inches)

Type

  • Decorative Arts,
  • Mosaics

Credit

Acquired by exchange from Worcester Art Museum

Object Number

40.194

Projects & Publications

Publications

Roman Paintings and Mosaics

Catalogue of the Classical Collection

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Ancient Greek and Roman Galleries

In the prosperous city of Antioch, images of the wine god Bacchus and his followers were commonly used in domestic contexts, reflecting wine-rich Roman banquets as well as the Antiochene preoccupation with luxury and pleasure. This image of Silenus (follower of the wine god) is from an opulent villa at Daphne, a suburb of Antioch; it was once part of a larger floor pavement. To make these vividly colored images, small pieces of colored stone (tesserae) were set into mortar. Their naturalistic treatment of the human form reflects the influence of Hellenistic artistic tradition on Roman style. During their excavation a coin minted during the reign of emperor Constantine was found beneath these mosaics, indicating that they were created between the years 325 and 330 CE.

Weiss Ancient Art Gallery

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Floor mosaic fragment depicting Silenus with the accession number of 40.194. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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