The Lotus Flower or Nelumbo Nucifera in Greco-Roman Mosaics

Year 2021, , 341 - 353, 30.11.2021

Véronique Vassal

https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.1014577

Abstract

Numerous mosaics from the Hellenistic and imperial periods with Nilotic decoration have been recorded, both in the West and in the East. Almost all of them have a vegetal decoration illustrating the flora of the Nile. Among this lush vegetation, the lotus is reproduced in various forms and it is worth studying some of these representations in detail. Some examples seem to be part of an Alexandrian tradition, but particularities may evoke the world of Pharaonic Egypt. We have endeavoured to highlight how the expression of these traditions in iconography has manifested itself as well as in the treatment of the decoration.
In the first instance, we thought it would be useful to go back over a few notions of botany and the characteristics of water lilies in Egypt. Different species are very similar, which leads to multiple risks of misunderstanding when using iconographic or literary sources.
In the second instance, we have tried to show how Greco-Roman mosaic artists rendered the different stages of the growth of these flowers through their art. The naturalistic aspect, very present in Hellenistic mosaics, seems to have changed during the imperial period. Does the lotus retain something of the earlier floral vision, when it adorned the pavements of the Roman provinces?
In the House of the Fauna in Pompeii, the mosaic of the Battle of Alexander and Darius decorated an exedra. The threshold, delimited by two Corinthian columns, was decorated with a mosaic consisting of several panels depicting scenes of life on the Nile, dating from the end of the 2nd century BC. These have been widely described and we have only focused here on the representation of lotus flowers. The illustration seems to visually describe the different stages of the flower’s life cycle. This is, in particular, the case as regards the Barberini mosaic in Préneste. The lotus sometimes appears from the front with its petals outspread. The nelumbo then consists of several corollae, the petals of which display shades of colour ranging from dark pink to light pink. This treatment is reminiscent of the fragment from the mosaic of the Canope baths, where a large nelumbo with two corollae unfolds in a circular composition.

Keywords

Mosaics, Nile, lotus, Nelumbo, duck

La fleur de lotus ou Nelumbo nucifera dans les mosaïques gréco-romaines

Abstract

Numerous mosaics from the Hellenistic and imperial periods with Nilotic decoration have been recorded, both in the West and in the East. Almost all of them have a vegetal decoration illustrating the flora of the Nile. Among this lush vegetation, the lotus is reproduced in various forms and it is worth studying some of these representations in detail. Some examples seem to be part of an Alexandrian tradition, but particularities may evoke the world of Pharaonic Egypt. We have endeavoured to highlight how the expression of these traditions in iconography has manifested itself as well as in the treatment of the decoration.
In the first instance, we thought it would be useful to go back over a few notions of botany and the characteristics of water lilies in Egypt. Different species are very similar, which leads to multiple risks of misunderstanding when using iconographic or literary sources.
In the second instance, we have tried to show how Greco-Roman mosaic artists rendered the different stages of the growth of these flowers through their art. The naturalistic aspect, very present in Hellenistic mosaics, seems to have changed during the imperial period. Does the lotus retain something of the earlier floral vision, when it adorned the pavements of the Roman provinces?
In the House of the Fauna in Pompeii, the mosaic of the Battle of Alexander and Darius decorated an exedra. The threshold, delimited by two Corinthian columns, was decorated with a mosaic consisting of several panels depicting scenes of life on the Nile, dating from the end of the 2nd century BC. These have been widely described and we have only focused here on the representation of lotus flowers. The illustration seems to visually describe the different stages of the flower’s life cycle. This is, in particular, the case as regards the Barberini mosaic in Préneste. The lotus sometimes appears from the front with its petals outspread. The nelumbo then consists of several corollae, the petals of which display shades of colour ranging from dark pink to light pink. This treatment is reminiscent of the fragment from the mosaic of the Canope baths, where a large nelumbo with two corollae unfolds in a circular composition.

Keywords

Mosaics, Nile, lotus, Nelumbo, duck

Greko-Romen Mozaiklerinde Lotus Çiçeği veya Nelumbo Nucifera

Abstract

Hem Batı’da hem de Doğu’da, Helenistik ve İmparatorluk dönemlerine ait çok sayıda Nil konulu mozaik kaydedilmiştir. Hemen hemen hepsinde Nil’in florasını gösteren bitkisel bir bezeme vardır. Bu yemyeşil bitki örtüsü arasında nilüfer çeşitli şekillerde yeniden üretilmektedir ve bu temsillerden bazılarını ayrıntılı olarak incelemeye değer. Bazı örnekler İskenderiye geleneğinin bir parçası gibi görünmektedir, ancak bunların özellikleri Firavun dönemi Mısır dünyasını çağrıştırıyor olabilir. Bu geleneklerin ikonografideki ifadesinin, süslemenin işlenmesinde olduğu kadar kendini nasıl gösterdiğini de vurgulamaya çalıştık.
İlk önce, birkaç botanik kavramına ve Mısır’daki nilüferlerin özelliklerine geri dönmenin faydalı olacağını düşündük. Farklı türler birbirine çok benzemektedir, bu da ikonografik veya edebi kaynakları kullanırken birden fazla yanlış anlama riskine yol açmaktadır.
İkinci etapta ise, Yunan - Roma mozaik sanatçılarının bu çiçeklerin gelişiminin farklı aşamalarını sanatlarıyla nasıl işlediklerini göstermeye çalıştık. Helenistik mozaiklerde çokça görülen natüralist husus, imparatorluk döneminde değişmiş görünmektedir. Lotus, Roma kentlerinin döşemelerini süslerken daha önceki çiçek görünümünden bir şeyler koruyor mu?
Pompeii’deki Faun Evi’nde, İskender ve Darius Savaşı’nın mozaiği bir eksedrayı süslemektedir. İki korinth sütunuyla sınırlanan eşik, İÖ 2. yüzyılın sonlarından kalma Nil’deki yaşam sahnelerini gösteren birkaç panelden oluşan bir mozaikle süslenmiştir. Bunlar geniş çapta tanımlanmıştır ve biz burada yalnızca lotus çiçeklerinin temsiline odaklandık. Çizim, çiçeğin yaşam döngüsünün farklı aşamalarını görsel olarak tanımlıyor gibi görünmektedir. Bu durum, özellikle Préneste’deki Barberini Mozaiği için geçerlidir. Lotus bazen önden yaprakları yayılmış hâlde görünmektedir. Lotus çiçeği (nelumbo) daha sonra, yaprakları koyu pembeden açık pembeye kadar değişen renk tonları sergileyen birkaç taçtan oluşur. Bu işleme, iki taçlı büyük bir lotus çiçeğinin dairesel bir kompozisyon içinde açıldığı Canope Hamamlarının mozaiklerinden gelen bir parçayı andırmaktadır.

Keywords

Mozaikler, Nil, lotus, Nilüfer Çiçeği, ördek

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