A ROMAN MARBLE MOSAIC PANEL

CIRCA 3RD CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE MOSAIC PANEL
CIRCA 3RD CENTURY A.D.
Composed of blue, red, green, black and white tesserae on a cream ground, depicting Selene driving her bull-drawn biga, the moon goddess clad in a peplos, her right arm by her side, raising a lit torch in her left that illuminates her lover, the sleeping Endymion, draped only in a mantle, his head resting on his bent left arm, his shepherd's crook in his right hand, with the winged erote Pothos, the god of sexual longing, in the upper right corner, pointing with his right hand at the scene below, each identified by a Greek inscription
66 in. (167.6 cm.) x 70 in. (177.8 cm.)

Provenance

London Art Market, 1979.
California Private Collection, late 1990s.

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Lot Essay

The moon goddess Selene happened upon the shepherd Endymion in repose, falling instantly in love with him. Selene asked Zeus to put Endymion in a state of eternal sleep so she would never lose him to death. Zeus did so and the goddess would visit him each evening as she made her journey across the night sky.

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