Artwork Page for Mosaic of Tigress and Cubs

Details / Information for Mosaic of Tigress and Cubs

Mosaic of Tigress and Cubs

300s CE

Eastern Roman Empire

Medium
tesserae
Measurements
Overall: 142.9 x 135.4 cm (56 1/4 x 53 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
John L. Severance Fund 1987.65
Public Domain
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Location
103 Roman
Print
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Did You Know?

This mosaic includes over ten thousand tesserae, or small cut-stone tiles.

Description

Despite its rectangular shape and creation from mostly square tesserae, this mosaic incorporates many curves in its composition, particularly for the tails of the tigers. With one cub on her back and two before her, the mother tiger reaches out with one paw and an open mouth, whether to scold or to play. Unlike lions, leopards, and bears, tigers appear relatively rarely in Roman art, with the tigress seen more frequently than her male counterpart.
A square mosaic of marble, glass, or tile depicts a tigress with three playing cubs, all four of them with their mouths open as if roaring. The tigress bends down toward a leaping cub turning to look back at her. Another cub sits behind the leaping cub, spatially below the tigress among the solid off-white background. The third cub leaps onto the mother's back. Shades of muted-orange brown with a black outline and stripes create the tigers. They each have winding tails.

Mosaic of Tigress and Cubs

300s CE

Eastern Roman Empire

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