Mosaic floor with Egyptianizing scene
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The mosaic, made of stone and glass tesserae, was found near Prima Porta, just north of Rome, in 1892. It was one of several mosaics uncovered in a villa complex. The two figures in the central panel wear Egyptian dress; the man standing on the left has been identified as a priest, making an offering to the seated figure, regarded as the goddess Isis. However, the interpretation of the scene remains problematic. Egypt held a special fascination for the Romans as a land of great wealth and antiquity, and its exotic character is often found reflected in Roman architecture, statuary, frescoes, and other decorative arts. The scene may therefore be imaginary, intended merely to convey an Egyptian atmosphere. The surrounding geometric and floral designs, on the other hand, are typically Roman. For many years the mosaic was displayed as the floor in the Boscoreale Cubiculum when it was located at the south end of the Great Hall. The mosaic was taken off displayed in 2006 when the Cubiculum was moved to its present location (Gallery 165), and it has recently been cleaned and conserved in the Sherman Fairchild Laboratory for Objects Conservation. Another mosaic, found in an adjacent room at the same villa, is exhibited in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.
Greek and Roman Art
An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Museum's collection of Greek and Roman art comprises more than thirty thousand works ranging in date from the Neolithic period (ca. 4500 B.C.) to the time of the Roman emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in A.D. 312. It includes the art of many cultures and is among the most comprehensive in North America. The geographic regions represented are Greece and Italy, but not as delimited by modern political frontiers: Greek colonies were established around the Mediterranean basin and on the shores of the Black Sea, and Cyprus became increasingly Hellenized. For Roman art, the geographical limits coincide with the expansion of the Roman Empire. The department also exhibits the art of prehistoric Greece (Helladic, Cycladic, and Minoan) and pre-Roman art of Italic peoples, notably the Etruscans.