Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

The Mosaic with Family Portraits and Mythological Figures in the Villa Armira near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria

Year 2020, Issue: 13, 219 - 237, 02.11.2020
https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.782373

Abstract

This article draws inspiration from Jean-Pierre Darmon’s belief that the figural mosaics decorating Roman private homes often have an educational function, serving as a form of paideia and representing cherished social and cultural values of the classical tradition. That notion is applied to a mosaic embellishing the Villa Armira located near Ivailovgrad in southeastern Thrace (modern Bulgaria) and dated to the 2nd century AD. The pavement depicts very lifelike portraits of three family members in addition to numerous mythological subjects. The latter helped inform the children represented about important social and moral concepts reflected in the mosaic imagery, thereby preparing them for future adult life. Besides making a detailed description of the pavement in question, the article draws comparisons with mosaics from other imperial Roman provinces. This pavement is an outstanding example of the assimilation of Greco-Roman culture in the region of Thrace during the High Empire.

References

  • Balmelle - Darmon 2017 C. Balmelle - J.-P. Darmon, La mosaïque dans les Gaules romaines, Paris.
  • Balty 1977 J. Balty, Mosaïques antiques de Syrie, Brussels.
  • Carandini et al. 1982 A. Carandini, A. Ricci, M. deVos, Filosofiana, La Villa di Piazza Armerina: Immagine di un aristocratico romano al tempo di Costantino, Palermo.
  • Charitonidis et al. 1970 S. Charitonidis. L. Kahil, R. Ginouvès, Les mosaïques de la Maison du Ménandre á Mytilène, Bern.
  • Cox et al. 2015 S. Cox, C. Marinescu, R. Wachter, “Bringing Up Baby: Five Unpublished Panels in the Kimbros Mosaic Series”, CMGR XII, Verona, 105-111.
  • Darmon 2018 J.-P. Darmon, Mythes et images en mosaïque antique: Scripta (musi)varia; Recueil de textes (1963-2013), Paris.
  • Décor I C. Balmelle – M. Blanchard Lemée – J. Christophe – J.-P. Darmon – A.-M. Guimier Sorbets – H. Lavagne – R. Prudhomme – H. Stern, Le Décor Géométrique de la Mosaïque Romaine I, Paris, 1985.
  • Dunbabin 1999 K. Dunbabin, Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Cambridge.
  • Dunbabin 2016 Theater and Spectacle in the Art of the Roman Empire, Ithaca and London.
  • Foucher 1965 L. Foucher, La Maison des Masques à Sousse: Fouilles 1962-1963, Tunis.
  • Kabakchieva 2002 G. Kabakchieva, “The Rescue Archaeological Excavations of the Big Tumulus/Mound Burial at the Village of Svirachi, Ivailovgrad Region”, Archaeaological Discoveries and Excavations in 2001, XLI National Archaeological Conference, Sofia, 106-107.
  • Kabakchieva 2010 G. Kabakchieva, “The Big Mound of the Family Necropolis of the Ancient Villa Armira”, D. Triantaphillos - D. Terzopoulou (eds.), Horses and Wagons in the Ancient World, 279-296.
  • Kabakchieva 2011 G. Kabakchieva, “Die antike Villa Armira – eine neue Touristattraktion in Bulgarien”, G. von Bülow – H. Zabehlicky (eds.), Bruckneudorf und Gamzigad: Spätantike Paläste und Grossvillen im Donau – Balkan – Raum, Akten des Internationalen Kolloquiums in Bruckneudorf vom 15. bis 18. Oktober 2008, Bonn, 219-231.
  • Kabakchieva 2012 G. Kabakchieva, The Splendour of the Villa Armira, Plovdiv.
  • Marinescu et al. 2005 C. Marinescu, S. Cox, R. Wachter, “Walking and Talking Among Us: Personifications in a Group of Late Antique Mosaics”, CMGR IX, 2, Rome, 1269-1277.
  • Mladenova 1983 J. Mladenova, “Les mosaïques de la villa d’Ivailovgrad (Bulgarie)”, CMGR III, Ravenna, 149-166.
  • Mladenova 1991 J. Mladenova, The Ancient Villa Armira near Ivailovgrad, English summary of Bulgarian text, V. Volkov - G. Kabakchieva (eds.), Sofia, 191-194.
  • Pappalardo - Ciardiello 2010 U. Pappalardo - R. Ciardiello, Mosaici greci e romani: Tappeti di pietra in età ellenistica e romana, Verona.
  • Parrish 1995 D. Parrish, “The Architectural Design and Interior Décor of Apartment I in Insula 2 at Ephesos”, CMGR V, 2, Ann Arbor, MI, 143-158.
  • Popova 2015 V. Popova, “The Mosaic Portraits of Villa Armira”, CMGR XII, Verona, 577-579.
  • Raynaud - Islami 2018 M.-P. Raynaud - A. Islami, Corpus of the Mosaics of Albania 1. Butrint intramuros, Bordeaux.
  • Valeva 2015 J. Valeva, “La villa romaine Armira près d’Ivailovgrad (Bulgarie): Archives de Yanka Mladenova et nouvelles considérations”, CMGR XII, Verona, 445-449.
  • Yacoub 1995 M. Yacoub, Splendeurs des mosaïques de Tunisie, Tunis.
  • Zimmermann - Ladstätter 2011 N. Zimmermann - S. Ladstätter, Wall Painting in Ephesos from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine Period, İstanbul.

Ivailovgrad, Bulgaristan Yakınlarındaki Villa Armira’da Aile Portreleri ve Mitolojik Figürler İçeren Mozaik

Year 2020, Issue: 13, 219 - 237, 02.11.2020
https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.782373

Abstract

Bu makale, Jean-Pierre Darmon’un Roma özel evlerini süsleyen figüral mozaiklerin genellikle bir eğitim işlevi gördüğü, bir paideia (okul) görevi gören ve klasik geleneğin kıymetli sosyal ve kültürel değerlerini temsil ettiği inancından ilham almaktadır. Bu düşünce, Trakya’nın güneyinde (modern Bulgaristan) Ivailovgrad yakınlarında bulunan ve İS 2. yüzyıla tarihlenen Villa Armira’yı süsleyen bir mozaiğe uygulanmaktadır. Döşemede çok sayıda mitolojik konuya ek olarak üç aile üyesinin çok gerçekçi portreleri gösterilmektedir. Mitolojik öğeler mozaik görüntülerinde yansıtılan önemli sosyal ve ahlaki kavramlar hakkında temsil edilen konular ile çocukları bilgilendirmeye yardımcı oluyordu ve böylece onları gelecekteki yetişkin yaşamına hazırlıyordu. Makale, söz konusu döşemenin ayrıntılı bir tanımını yapmanın yanı sıra, diğer Roma İmparatorluğu eyaletlerinden gelen mozaiklerle karşılaştırmalar yapmaktadır. Bu mozaik, Yüksek İmparatorluk Dönemi’nde Trakya Bölgesi’nde Greko-Romen kültürünün asimilasyonunun olağanüstü bir örneğidir.

References

  • Balmelle - Darmon 2017 C. Balmelle - J.-P. Darmon, La mosaïque dans les Gaules romaines, Paris.
  • Balty 1977 J. Balty, Mosaïques antiques de Syrie, Brussels.
  • Carandini et al. 1982 A. Carandini, A. Ricci, M. deVos, Filosofiana, La Villa di Piazza Armerina: Immagine di un aristocratico romano al tempo di Costantino, Palermo.
  • Charitonidis et al. 1970 S. Charitonidis. L. Kahil, R. Ginouvès, Les mosaïques de la Maison du Ménandre á Mytilène, Bern.
  • Cox et al. 2015 S. Cox, C. Marinescu, R. Wachter, “Bringing Up Baby: Five Unpublished Panels in the Kimbros Mosaic Series”, CMGR XII, Verona, 105-111.
  • Darmon 2018 J.-P. Darmon, Mythes et images en mosaïque antique: Scripta (musi)varia; Recueil de textes (1963-2013), Paris.
  • Décor I C. Balmelle – M. Blanchard Lemée – J. Christophe – J.-P. Darmon – A.-M. Guimier Sorbets – H. Lavagne – R. Prudhomme – H. Stern, Le Décor Géométrique de la Mosaïque Romaine I, Paris, 1985.
  • Dunbabin 1999 K. Dunbabin, Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World, Cambridge.
  • Dunbabin 2016 Theater and Spectacle in the Art of the Roman Empire, Ithaca and London.
  • Foucher 1965 L. Foucher, La Maison des Masques à Sousse: Fouilles 1962-1963, Tunis.
  • Kabakchieva 2002 G. Kabakchieva, “The Rescue Archaeological Excavations of the Big Tumulus/Mound Burial at the Village of Svirachi, Ivailovgrad Region”, Archaeaological Discoveries and Excavations in 2001, XLI National Archaeological Conference, Sofia, 106-107.
  • Kabakchieva 2010 G. Kabakchieva, “The Big Mound of the Family Necropolis of the Ancient Villa Armira”, D. Triantaphillos - D. Terzopoulou (eds.), Horses and Wagons in the Ancient World, 279-296.
  • Kabakchieva 2011 G. Kabakchieva, “Die antike Villa Armira – eine neue Touristattraktion in Bulgarien”, G. von Bülow – H. Zabehlicky (eds.), Bruckneudorf und Gamzigad: Spätantike Paläste und Grossvillen im Donau – Balkan – Raum, Akten des Internationalen Kolloquiums in Bruckneudorf vom 15. bis 18. Oktober 2008, Bonn, 219-231.
  • Kabakchieva 2012 G. Kabakchieva, The Splendour of the Villa Armira, Plovdiv.
  • Marinescu et al. 2005 C. Marinescu, S. Cox, R. Wachter, “Walking and Talking Among Us: Personifications in a Group of Late Antique Mosaics”, CMGR IX, 2, Rome, 1269-1277.
  • Mladenova 1983 J. Mladenova, “Les mosaïques de la villa d’Ivailovgrad (Bulgarie)”, CMGR III, Ravenna, 149-166.
  • Mladenova 1991 J. Mladenova, The Ancient Villa Armira near Ivailovgrad, English summary of Bulgarian text, V. Volkov - G. Kabakchieva (eds.), Sofia, 191-194.
  • Pappalardo - Ciardiello 2010 U. Pappalardo - R. Ciardiello, Mosaici greci e romani: Tappeti di pietra in età ellenistica e romana, Verona.
  • Parrish 1995 D. Parrish, “The Architectural Design and Interior Décor of Apartment I in Insula 2 at Ephesos”, CMGR V, 2, Ann Arbor, MI, 143-158.
  • Popova 2015 V. Popova, “The Mosaic Portraits of Villa Armira”, CMGR XII, Verona, 577-579.
  • Raynaud - Islami 2018 M.-P. Raynaud - A. Islami, Corpus of the Mosaics of Albania 1. Butrint intramuros, Bordeaux.
  • Valeva 2015 J. Valeva, “La villa romaine Armira près d’Ivailovgrad (Bulgarie): Archives de Yanka Mladenova et nouvelles considérations”, CMGR XII, Verona, 445-449.
  • Yacoub 1995 M. Yacoub, Splendeurs des mosaïques de Tunisie, Tunis.
  • Zimmermann - Ladstätter 2011 N. Zimmermann - S. Ladstätter, Wall Painting in Ephesos from the Hellenistic to the Byzantine Period, İstanbul.
There are 24 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Archaeology
Journal Section Article
Authors

David Parrısh This is me 0000-0003-4076-362X

Publication Date November 2, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020 Issue: 13

Cite

APA Parrısh, D. (2020). The Mosaic with Family Portraits and Mythological Figures in the Villa Armira near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria. Journal of Mosaic Research(13), 219-237. https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.782373
AMA Parrısh D. The Mosaic with Family Portraits and Mythological Figures in the Villa Armira near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria. JMR. November 2020;(13):219-237. doi:10.26658/jmr.782373
Chicago Parrısh, David. “The Mosaic With Family Portraits and Mythological Figures in the Villa Armira Near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria”. Journal of Mosaic Research, no. 13 (November 2020): 219-37. https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.782373.
EndNote Parrısh D (November 1, 2020) The Mosaic with Family Portraits and Mythological Figures in the Villa Armira near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria. Journal of Mosaic Research 13 219–237.
IEEE D. Parrısh, “The Mosaic with Family Portraits and Mythological Figures in the Villa Armira near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria”, JMR, no. 13, pp. 219–237, November 2020, doi: 10.26658/jmr.782373.
ISNAD Parrısh, David. “The Mosaic With Family Portraits and Mythological Figures in the Villa Armira Near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria”. Journal of Mosaic Research 13 (November 2020), 219-237. https://doi.org/10.26658/jmr.782373.
JAMA Parrısh D. The Mosaic with Family Portraits and Mythological Figures in the Villa Armira near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria. JMR. 2020;:219–237.
MLA Parrısh, David. “The Mosaic With Family Portraits and Mythological Figures in the Villa Armira Near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria”. Journal of Mosaic Research, no. 13, 2020, pp. 219-37, doi:10.26658/jmr.782373.
Vancouver Parrısh D. The Mosaic with Family Portraits and Mythological Figures in the Villa Armira near Ivailovgrad, Bulgaria. JMR. 2020(13):219-37.

21079                 16193




22516          16207



                                                   16208                          16209



22362