Mosaic From a Pavement: White Tendril, Black Background
1-400 CE
Description
Mosaic fragment approximately 3 cm thick. The slab is comprised of mainly Roman mortar, with approximately .5 cm thick tesserae (cut stone tiles). On the flat, polished surface, the tesserae are .3 cm square. There is a black background with a white tendril curling upwards (opus vermiculatum). The beginning of another white tendril can be seen to the right side, but it is now broken off. It appears as if the white tendril was put in this area of the fragment first, because the tesserae of the black background curve around it. Above and below this area, there are straight black lines of the background (opus tesselatum), suggesting they were assembled even before the tendrils. The combination of opus vermiculatum and opus tesselatum is called opus classicum.
Dimensions
5.9 x 4 x 2.9 cm (2 5/16 x 1 9/16 x 1 1/8 in.)
Provenance
Henry W. Haynes, bequest; to the Department of the Classics Harvard University, 1912, transfer; to the Fogg Art Museum, 1977.
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