Cleveland Museum of Art
Mosaic of Tigress and Cubs
- Date
- 300s CE
- Medium
- tesserae
- Culture
- Eastern Roman Empire
- Department
- Greek and Roman Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
Despite its rectangular shape and creation from mostly square tesserae, this mosaic incorporates many curves in its composition, particularly for the tails of the tigers. With one cub on her back and two before her, the mother tiger reaches out with one paw and an open mouth, whether to scold or to play. Unlike lions, leopards, and bears, tigers appear relatively rarely in Roman art, with the tigress seen more frequently than her male counterpart. This mosaic includes over ten thousand tesserae, or small cut-stone tiles.
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