The Excavation of Antioch-on-the-Orontes 1932-1939

b82-M133a

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Mosaics See all items with this value

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House of Iphigenia See all items with this value

H. 2.00 W. 1.48 Room 3. Central emblema. Outer border, black, consisting of two rows of black, dark grey friable and grey friable that defines the panel itself. The desired effect of the border was probably black although it is really dark grey or greyish black in contrast to the jet black of the foliate border. Red crowstep border. Foliate border (laurel leaves?) of yellow leaves, shaded from dark to light yellow, which grow from a circular or oval nodule of dark yellow and yellow with white highlight; from between the leaves grows a long oval bud with a long stamen on each side: the buds are yellow to light yellow with some tesserae of white and usually a line of white for the inner line (toward the emblema); the end of each stamen is tipped with white and the rest is dark yellow shading to light. This border is like that around the Nymphs and Pegasos panel from DH-23/24-M/N and around the Buffet Supper and around the Bacchantes and Perseus and Andromeda panels from Seleucia. Within the foliate border is another red crowstep border. Narrow inner border, greyish black. Emblema: female figure at the left wearing white robe; headdress outlined in black at the back and on both sides; in front it is light violet with white highlight and violet shadow; down the sides and in the folds over the chest it is done in tones of light violet changing to white in the light, and violet to dark violet in the shadow; between the inner edge of the headdress and the hair, cheek, and neck of the figure is jet black; the fold presumably held in the left hand of the figure has the same color scheme except that the hollow of the cascaded fold is in blue-grey. both here and over the chest the outer edge of the dark violet shadow has a narrow line of grey-green tesserae; drapery over torso, hips, right thigh, and right calf is white and light grey with the light shadow of shallow creases in light grey, grey, and grey-blue; over her right arm and under her right wrist and hand is dark violet; a few lines over torso and one down her right thigh are in grey-green; edge of drapery falling diagonally across the lower part of her body and held in her right hand is white in the light and shaded to light violet and violet and in the shadow, dark violet and black; the lower part of her undergarment falls in vertical folds of white and grey in the light, light violet-grey, grey-blue, grey-green and dark violet in the shadows; bottom of drapery in a single black line; behind the head of the figure and down the back sides (as background) is jet black; hair and face: hair in highlight and above forehead is yellow and light yellow; the rest is red and light red; face has white highlight on forehead, nose, and chin and very light violet on both cheeks, remainder of modelling in shades of light violet, violet, and dark violet; one tesserae of blue-grey in each eye and at end of nose; shadow under chin light violet to dark violet; neck white and very light violet. Female figure in center: headdress seems to be a kind of bonnet on top of the head from which ribbons or streamers hang down behind her right shoulder and over her left shoulder; the top part of her headdress or bonnet is yellow glass with a few highlights of very white glass and shadows in dark yellow and violet-grey; above the yellow is dark blue glass; the ribbons or streamers down to her right side are dark blue glass, greenish grey and jet black; the ribbons down her left shoulder are very white glass in the highlight over her hair and change to white marble over her shoulder; the other ribbons are black with a greenish grey shadow between them and the white; over her left shoulder, falling under her right arm, and drawn across the lower part of her torso and thighs to fall in a cascade over her left forearm is a himation which is white, light grey and light yellow in the light, and dark yellow, green, grey-green, and yellowish grey in shaded areas; it is bordered with dark violet over the torso and black in the cascade; tunic of white, dark green, dark blue glass, and jet black above her himation; the same colors are continued in the lower folds and to them are added tesserae of greenish blue and yellowish green; hem of the skirt, black. Originally there were white glass cubes over the breast, abdomen, and in the lower folds, but these have all disintegrated. Hair and face: hair over forehead and right temple is black and dark violet; over temple and eye it is violet and dark violet with lighted strands of light grey, light bluish grey, light violet and yellow; face and neck, white and very light violet in light and grey in half light with dark violet shadows; under nose, under right eye, and over left, grey; pupils of eye dark violet in light grey eyeball; left earlobe, very light violet and light grey; touches of light red at chin, lower lip and nostril; right arm, white, light violet-grey and violet-grey; fingers over shoulder of white-draped figure, light violet with dark violet with black space between them and light red highlights; bracelet around top of right arm, yellow glass at top, red below; fingers of left hand, very light violet and light violet with dark violet shadows between; fan, jet black stem and on top left side is dark violet with single yellow glass tesserae with black around lower section as ornament at bottom and black tesserae near top; right side of the fan, yellow glas in light with bottom ornament represented by a single red and black dot; yellow glass shades to greenish yellow glass with single red tessera near top to outer edge which is in dark violet and dark grey; toes projecting from hem of dress: left foot in white, light grey and grey-green; right foot in very white glass which has disintegrated; clasp over right shoulder, yellow glass. Bearded male figure in female (?) dress: himation, dark violet, red and pink with white highlight except over left breast where there are lines of red, dark red, and light greenish yellow glass; around the lower section of the himation bunched around left arm is light greyish green and jet black shadow; long tunic has belt with black border within which are light brown and yellow glass, light green and light yellowish green glass; tunic over breast, red and dark red glass, brown and a decomposed glass (possibly black); down right breast the tunic is dark blue glass on outside and bluish green glass; down left breast, jet black and black (?) glass, blue, bluish green, and light greenish yellow glass; over extended right arm the tunic is jet black in the under shadow and the creases modelled in greenish blue, grey-green, and grey-yellow; over left arm the tesserae are jet black along the exterior and in the deepest shadow, blue glass with yellow glass highlight, light yellow-green and light grey-gren glass; the folds that fall from the best to the ground display and extraordinary variety of colors for a single garment as though the mosaicist were attempting to give the effect of an irridescent silk; the central part from the best to border is in vertical rows of light blue glass with light yellowish green glass on either side, then alternate rows of bluish green and dark grey; in the lower part of this central section is a wide border reaching to the feet which has white highlights and horizontal bands of (top to bottom) yellow, dark yellow to shades of grey-green, light blue and greenish blue glass, yellow and dark yellow, greenish blue glass, brown, light brown, light blue, greenish blue, and white glass, jet black and grey-green; and finally a wide band of yellow, dark yellow, dark and light brown, dark violet, and blue glass; drapery at the left in striations from the belt to the ground has no indication of the wide border seen in the central section: outer row, dark blue glass, and within this are long folds of dark blue glass, blue and bluish green glass, grey-green and black; the hem of the drapery is black and in bottom folds of drapery the right foot is indicated by greyish green and black, and the left foot by black outline around yellow and dark violet; the shoes are turned up at the end and represented as painted; face: hair and beard, light grey with white highlight and shadows of violet and grey to jet black; on the left, greyish green, grey, and blue glass; features have strong highlights in white and pink with touches of light red shadows and half lights in grey, violet with fleck of yellow under nose and over left temple; neck has pinkish white highlight, shades of grey and light violet-grey and a shadow of violet; hands, white, pink, and red with a few light reddish yellow cubes. Thyrsos?: top row of black, bottom row of white with few light yellow tesseare; tuft at lower end is in dark violet, light yellow, and yellowish pink. Foreground on which figures stand: under white-robed maiden, grey and greyish-violet to light grey-violet to wide band of light grey and light yellow mixed; under priestess, grey and greyish violet to light grey-violet; under Bacchus, grey and greyish violet to light grey-violet casting a short shadow of dark grey and dark grey-green. Architecture (left to right): altar at end of screen wall, white in light, very light violet in half light, grey in shadow, black in deepest shadow; grey and black to indicate horizontal mouldings. Columns of the temenos: partly outlined in dark grey within which are shades of grey and white; necking in dark red; details of Ionic capitals indicated in dark red and black shaded with grey and white. Architecture is of whit, very light yellow and light grey mixed on side and on bottom. The far edge is drawn in very dark grey and the rest in dark grey. The shadow between the architrave of the inner colonnade and the pilaster responds is in two rows of dark greenish brown. The pilaster responds are in dark grey and violet, mixed behind the first column and dark grey alone behind the second. The responds bear an architrave indicated by one row of dark grey for the side and three rows of jet black for the under surface. Under the black tesserae of the outer architrave can be seen two rows of dark blue tesserae to indicate the top of the temenos wall; under them are rows of light greenish blue which have almost entirely disintegrated, possibly to indicate a frieze, and below them is the grilled fenestration of grey and white between which is seen the blue glass cubes of the sky. (Another interpretation is that the pilaster responds are really an outer colonnade of the Doric order with a high screen wall between. In this the frieze would be the sky and the top projections above the grill would be spikes to keep out marauders). The screen wall behind the white-robed maiden is dark grey; behind the priestess, grey. Temple: preserved column and capital is outlined in dark grey except inside line and shadow which are jet black; details are drawn in dark grey except for the neck band of greenish brown. The rest is colored shades of grey with white highlights. Small section of capital of destroyed column, violet and white. Intercolumnation, dark grey. Architrave, light grey and white in light, dark grey and violet-grey in shadow. Cornice and raking cornice, white and shades of grey. Pediment, bluish green glass at the left, grey-green glass at the right. Roof, pink with superimposed lines of red with black ends and with black undersurface on the left projections only.

4/23/1938 See all items with this value

Antioch Museum See all items with this value