Art Institute of Chicago

Mosaic Floor Panel Depicting a Personification of a Season

Roman; Rome, Italy

Date

2nd century

Medium

Stone, glass, mortar

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Eight Fragments from a Mosaic Pavement While on the Grand Tour, Lord Charles Kinnaird and Lord George William Russell inspected in 1823 the remains of a large mosaic that had recently been discovered in a vineyard on Monte Rosario, outside Rome’s Porta Portuensis gate. Once the floor of a luxurious home, the mosaic comprised concentric bands of multihued figural decoration as well as boldly contrasting ornamental patterns that framed a central scene, which over time had been irreparably damaged by the roots of a tree. The two men purchased and divided the finds. Among the pieces of the mosaic acquired by Lord Kinnaird were eight small panels, six of which depicted still lifes of foodstuffs and objects used in the preparation of meals, while the remain- ing two contained the busts of figures assumed to be personifications of seasons. All eight pieces were designed to fit into a meander-pattern border that encircled the now-missing central figural scene. Based on a drawing made at the time of the mosaic’s discovery, the original pavement is thought to have been approximately 30 × 27 1/2 feet. This bust of a female figure is one of two recovered from the corners of one band of the much larger mosaic pavement that once contained all eight fragments. Crowned with a wreath of grain stalks, she is thought to be a personification of Autumn. The other surviving bust, which is also displayed in this case, wears a green and blue wreath and might represent Spring or Summer. It is possible that the remaining two seasons were depicted in the missing corner panels, perhaps evoking the cycle of time and the seasonal renewal of nature.

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