Research Article

Seasonal Animals in Roman Mosaics

Number: 15 November 9, 2022
  • Patricia Witts
TR EN

Seasonal Animals in Roman Mosaics

Abstract

Animals were popular subjects for Roman mosaics, featuring in many contexts. In his influential book, Season Mosaics of Roman North Africa, David Parrish included a short section on animals symbolising the Seasons, appearing either with personifications or representing the Seasons by themselves.
This article widens the discussion and looks beyond North Africa. It begins by examining mosaics on which personifications of the Seasons ride animals and continues with those in which the association is progressively less direct, with a view to analysing which animals can be shown to carry seasonal connotations and whether those animals were associated with more than one season.
Mosaics in which four animals appear without personifications are also considered in order to assess whether or not they represented the Seasons. The presence of other seasonal imagery supports this idea, while factors such as the context in which the animals appear and the order in which they are shown can suggest an answer one way or the other.
The aim of the article is to demonstrate that whenever four animals are depicted in a mosaic it is worth considering whether they might have seasonal associations, while bearing in mind that this will not necessarily be the case in every instance.

Keywords

References

  1. Abad Casal 1990a L. Abad Casal, ‘Horae’, LIMC V, 510-538.
  2. Abad Casal 1990b L. Abad Casal, ‘Kairoi/Tempora Anni’, LIMC V, 891-920.
  3. Balmelle - Darmon 2017 C. Balmelle - J.-P. Darmon, La Mosaïque dans les Gaules Romaines, Paris.
  4. Balty 1995 J. Balty, Mosaïques Antiques du Proche Orient, Paris.
  5. Bertacchi 1964 L. Bertacchi, ‘Attività delle Soprintendenze Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Aquileia (Udine)’, BdA XLIX, 257-262.
  6. Bertacchi 1980 L. Bertacchi, ‘Architettura e mosaico’, Da Aquileia a Venezia. Una mediazione tra l’Europa e l’Oriente dal II secolo a.C. al VI secolo d.C., Milan, 97-336.
  7. Biévelet 1943 H. Biévelet, ‘L’exploration archéologique de Bavai’, Gallia 1(2), 159-189.
  8. Biévelet 1956 H. Biévelet, ‘L’exploration archéologique de Bavai: dallages de marbres, mosaïques et peintures murales à Bavai’, Latomus XV, 567-584.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Archaeology

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Patricia Witts This is me
0000-0002-7103-3817
United Kingdom

Publication Date

November 9, 2022

Submission Date

January 15, 2022

Acceptance Date

September 27, 2022

Published in Issue

Year 2022 Number: 15

APA
Witts, P. (2022). Seasonal Animals in Roman Mosaics. Journal of Mosaic Research, 15, 335-366. https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.1143766
AMA
1.Witts P. Seasonal Animals in Roman Mosaics. JMR. 2022;(15):335-366. doi:10.26658/jmr.1143766
Chicago
Witts, Patricia. 2022. “Seasonal Animals in Roman Mosaics”. Journal of Mosaic Research, nos. 15: 335-66. https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.1143766.
EndNote
Witts P (November 1, 2022) Seasonal Animals in Roman Mosaics. Journal of Mosaic Research 15 335–366.
IEEE
[1]P. Witts, “Seasonal Animals in Roman Mosaics”, JMR, no. 15, pp. 335–366, Nov. 2022, doi: 10.26658/jmr.1143766.
ISNAD
Witts, Patricia. “Seasonal Animals in Roman Mosaics”. Journal of Mosaic Research. 15 (November 1, 2022): 335-366. https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.1143766.
JAMA
1.Witts P. Seasonal Animals in Roman Mosaics. JMR. 2022;:335–366.
MLA
Witts, Patricia. “Seasonal Animals in Roman Mosaics”. Journal of Mosaic Research, no. 15, Nov. 2022, pp. 335-66, doi:10.26658/jmr.1143766.
Vancouver
1.Patricia Witts. Seasonal Animals in Roman Mosaics. JMR. 2022 Nov. 1;(15):335-66. doi:10.26658/jmr.1143766

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