A ROMAN MARBLE MOSAIC PANEL

CIRCA EARLY 3RD CENTURY A.D.

Details

A ROMAN MARBLE MOSAIC PANEL
Circa Early 3rd Century A.D.
Composed of tan, brown, red, gray, black and pink tesserae on a white ground, the central panel with a bust of the fluvial divinity Arethousa identified by an inscription above, depicted emerging from a river and looking off to her right, the goddess clad in a tunic slipping off her right shoulder, her hair wreathed in foliage, the panel framed by bands of perspective meander and crowstep
71 in. x 70 in. (180.3 cm. x 177.8 cm.)

Provenance

European Private Collection, 1970s.

Lot Essay

In mythology, Arethousa, one of the Nereids, is transformed into a spring by Artemis to save her from the advances of the river god Alpheus. Although popular in Greek art, personifications of rivers and springs over time lost their geographical and mythological meanings and became incorporated into wall and floor designs for decorative purposes. For a similar mosaic panel of Arethousa, from the House of the Porticos in Antioch, see p. 99 in Cimok, ed., Antioch Mosaics.

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