Hellenistic mosaics
Exploring the impact of material culture on Hellenistic mosaics
What are mosaics?
(Fig. 1) Tesserae
Mosaics are inlaid pictures and patterns made of small cubes of stone and glass (Pollitt, 210). Mosaics can be grouped into two large categories: pebble mosaics and tessellated mosaics. The earliest examples of pebble mosaics can be found at Olynthus and Motya from the 5th and early 4th century B.C. Additionally, the earliest tessellated mosaics can be found in Morgantina from the 3rd century B.C. (Dunbabin, 265). These mosaics developed new styles and themes with the flow of goods, people, and culture in the Mediterranean.
This project will examine and compare the two broad regional styles of Hellenistic mosaics from the East and West.
Mosaic styles in the West and East
Mosaics in the West
One of the key differences between the two regional mosaics was the color schemes that were used. Unlike Eastern mosaics that were colorful, western mosaics were comprised of darker color schemes like black, grey-blue, and grey-green colors (Westgate, 259).
(Fig 2) Trompe l'oeil in opus sectile, Pompeii (Westgate, 262)
Moreover, mosaics that were made from opus sectile techniques were mainly found in the west. This technique used stone pieces that were cut into shapes and were inlaid into floors and walls (Westgate, 259)
Opus sectile mosaics had lozenge (rhombus or diamond) patterns which formed trompe l'oeil ("to deceive an eye" in French) cubes (Fig 2). These cubes were used to create optical illusions so that the cubes appear to exist in three dimensions (Tate Museum).
(Fig 3) Opus signinum pavement in Megara Hyblaia with a narrow stripe border (Westgate, 259)
Additionally, early western mosaics rarely had decorated borders like in the east. Instead, the mosaics had narrow stripe borders as seen in the picture above (Westgate, 263).
Mosaics in the East
On the other hand, mythological scenes depicting creatures or gods, like Centaur and Dionysus, were prominent in the East. Dionysus was often used to decorate dining rooms as he was the god of conviviality (Pollitt, 213).
(Fig 4) Centaur mosaic made of pebbles in Rhodes (Pollitt, 211)
Moreover, instead of dark lozenges, Eastern mosaicists used tesserae with bright colors like red, yellow, blue, and green to decorate lozenges like in the picture below. (Westgate, 259).
(Fig 5) Mosaic in Delos with brightly colored lozenges (Westgate, 256)
Lastly, Eastern mosaics had borders that were heavily decorated with multicolored strips, garlands, lozenge, and bead bands (Christensen, 58-59).
Materials and methods used
Some key differences between the mosaics from the west and the east were the subsidiary materials and techniques that were used in the mosaics. Craftsmen from both regions often used cheaper material for the borders to cut costs.
Mosaics in the West
Western mosaicists commonly used opus signinum with inset tesserae decorations to economize on costs (Westgate, 260). Opus signinum is a paving material that is made from crushed terracotta with bright red mortar. This technique was frequently used as terracotta was abundant in the west as it was used for roofing tiles, water pipes, and pottery. Western use of terracotta shows how scarce and expensive marble and limestone were in Sicily and Italy during the Hellenistic period (Tsakirgis, 1-2).
(Fig 6) Opus signinum style (Tsakirgis, 427)
Additionally, Pompeiian mosaics used opus vermiculatum on the emblema with a plain pavement. This is contrary to Greek styled mosaics that used opus vermiculatum for both the emblemata and border (Westgate, 272).
(Fig 7) Tesserae Mosaic with border in opus signinum, Taormina (Westgate, 261)
Mosaics in the East
Eastern mosaicists utilized rough chips or pebbles as subsidiary material to decorate their borders. This reflects how marble, limestone, and glass were more abundant in the East compared to the West as discussed earlier.
Moreover, Greek-style mosaics were decorative on both the emblemata and the pavements. Most commonly, the emblemata were in opus vermiculatum, while the rest were in opus tessellatum (Westgate, 260). Opus vermiculatum uses small tesserae, which allowed mosaicists to create subtle contours around a subject. Opus tessellatum uses larger tesserae and were horizontally or vertically aligned to surround panel scenes (lecture 16).
(Fig 8) Mosaic with stone chipped border in Delos (Westgate, 260)
(Fig 9) Mosaic in Delos with the most outer border in pebbles (Westgate, 256)
Influences from the West
Influence from West on East
An example of western influence in eastern mosaics can be found at the House of the Consul Attalus at Pergamon. This mosaic is comprised of trompe l'oeil cubes with western dark color schemes. This design is identical to the previous example that was examined (Westgate, 260).
(Fig 10) Trompe l'oeil patterns in Pergamon (Scheibelreiter, 68)
Themes in Mosaic
Scenes of daily life
Common scenes of everyday life that were depicted on mosaics include agricultural operations, hunting, chariot- racing, and contests of the amphitheater (Ling, 201)
(Fig 11) Mosaic of Lord Julius, Carthage (Ling, 203)
Mosaics often contained scenes showing daily activities, nature, and good fortune. The symbols of good fortune could be seen as their hope to win battles and the nature scenes with trees and fruits could represent vegetal fertility (Christensen, 91).
(Fig 12) Cockfight Mosaic in the House of the Labyrinth at Pompeii (National Archaeological Museum of Naples)
Creatures
(Fig 13) Marine Fauna Mosaic at the House of the Faun in Pompeii (National Archaeological Museum of Naples)
Marine Fauna at the House of the Faun depicts a coastal landscape with a vegetal frame. Fish mosaics were common in Pompeii as many traders and aristocrats made profit from maritime trade. The cat mosaic in the bottom features scenes of combat which was another theme that appeared commonly. It could also represent the preparation of a banquet (Christensen, 96). Many mosaics in Pompeii depicted scenes that were related to banquets and maritime trade. Such artworks were used to show the host's "culture and sophistication" (Westgate, 271).
(Fig 14) Cat fighting against a cock, ducks, fish and shells Mosaic at the House of the Faun (National Archaeological Museum of Naples)
Bibliography
Katherine M. D. Dunbabin. “Technique and Materials of Hellenistic Mosaics.” American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 83, no. 3, 1979, pp. 265–277. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/505057. Accessed 4 May 2021.
Parrish, David. “Two Mosaics from Roman Tunisia: An African Variation of the Season Theme.” American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 83, no. 3, 1979, pp. 279–285. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/505058. Accessed 5 May 2021.
Pollitt, J.J. Art in the Hellenistic Age. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
Scheibelreiter, Veronika. "Mosaics in Roman and Late Antique Western Asia Minor" https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Veronika-Scheibelreiter-Gail/publication/302909685_Mosaics_in_Roman_and_Late_Antique_Western_Asia_Minor_in_M_Sahin_Hrsg_III_Uluslararasi_Turkiye_Mozaik_Korpusu_Sempozyumu_Bildirileri_-_Proceedings_of_the_3rd_International_Symposium_of_the_Mosaics_of_T/links/584fef6008aeb989252e74cb/Mosaics-in-Roman-and-Late-Antique-Western-Asia-Minor-in-M-Sahin-Hrsg-III-Uluslararasi-Tuerkiye-Mozaik-Korpusu-Sempozyumu-Bildirileri-Proceedings-of-the-3rd-International-Symposium-of-the-Mosaics-o.pdf
“Trompe L'oeil – Art Term.” Tate Museum, www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/t/trompe-loeil.
Tsakirgis, Barbara. “The Decorated Pavements of Morgantina II: The Opus Signinum.” American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 94, no. 3, 1990, pp. 425–443. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/505795. Accessed 4 May 2021.
Westgate, Ruth. “Pavimenta Atque Emblemata Vermiculata: Regional Styles in Hellenistic Mosaic and the First Mosaics at Pompeii.” American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 104, no. 2, 2000, pp. 255–275. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/507451. Accessed 4 May 2021.
Links to pictures
Figure 1: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/708074Lozenge in Delos: https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.14742418?Search=yes&resultItemClick=true&searchText=delos+mosaic&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Ddelos%2Bmosaic%26groupefq%3DWyJjb250cmlidXRlZF9pbWFnZXMiXQ%253D%253D&ab_segments=0%2FSYC-5770%2Ftest&refreqid=fastly-default%3Ad9a22d35395fd7fd065f3b6953dc945e&seq=1
Figure 12, 13, 14: https://www.museoarcheologiconapoli.it/en/room-and-sections-of-the-exhibition/mosaics/
