Artwork Page for Floor Mosaic Panel: Grape Harvester with Peacock

Details / Information for Floor Mosaic Panel: Grape Harvester with Peacock

Floor Mosaic Panel: Grape Harvester with Peacock

400s

Byzantium, Northern Syria, Byzantine period, 5th century

Medium
marble tesserae
Measurements
Overall: 133.5 x 144.8 cm (52 9/16 x 57 in.)
Weight: 132.449 kg (292 lbs.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1969.112
Public Domain
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Location
106A Migration Period & Coptic
Print

Description

This group of mosaics may be from a church at Maaut El Naaman in northern Syria. The panel depicting Adam and Eve includes a Greek inscription that translates as: "And they ate, [and they] were made naked," from the book of Genesis (3:7–8). It is possible that the mosaic belonged to a pavement illustrating the Garden of Eden. The Grape Harvester with a Peacock also conveys well-known Christian themes. The grapes represent the Eucharistic wine and thus the blood of Christ, while the peacock was a symbol of immortality.
A horizontally oriented marble tesserae mosaic depicts a fragmented scene with a person and a peacock. On our left, the peacock faces our left, its long tail sweeping across the bottom toward our right. On our right, a person with a medium-light skin tone faces our left. They wear a spotted tunic and hold grapes in their right hand and a basket in their left. Muted grapevines and fruit clusters fill the background.

Floor Mosaic Panel: Grape Harvester with Peacock

400s

Byzantium, Northern Syria, Byzantine period, 5th century

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