Close up of mosaic edge depicting border with Eros partially visible, after conservation
- Description:
- Close up of mosaic edge depicting border with Eros partially visible, after conservation
- Photographer:
- Image captured by Project Staff
- Date Created:
- July 16, 2003
- Collection:
- Greco-Roman Museum Mosaic Conservation
- Series:
- Post-conservation
- Subseries:
- Stag Hunt Mosaic
- Location:
- Alexandria, Egypt and Al Iskandarīyah
- Time Period:
- Hellenistic Period and Ptolemaic Period
- Topic:
- Art, Greco-Roman, Greek mythology, Greek gods, Love, Mosaics, Tesserae, and Stonework
- Genre:
- color photographs and documentary photography
- Conservation Note:
- A band of dark-gray ivy with dark-yellow berries and heart-shaped leaves partially frames an Eros standing to the left with his head turned towards the stag. His hands are lifted and hold a club (?) or stick, of which only the handle is partly visible. His wings are spread. A golden bracelet shines on his wrist (but not on the ankle as previously thought) and a golden diadem adorns his head. The body is made of creamy-white tesserae with partial contours and shadows in pale pink and yellow stones. Yellow pebbles and wide lead strips indicate his bushy hair. The eyes are made of white stones especially cut lo fit the almond-shaped eyeballs. The irises are inlaid with black pebbles. Fleshy lips are marked with light pink tesserae of special shape. Stones cut to shape were also used for the nose tip, fingertips, and genitals (Final Remarks Report).
- Copyright Status:
- copyrighted
- Creative Commons License:
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
- Local ID:
- arce_ca_mmc_images_0018.tif
- Project History:
- Within the walls of the Greco-Roman Museum, Alexandria, Egypt are three intricate mosaics of very fine quality between the second and third century, BCE. Under the auspices of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), Father Michele Piccirillo of the Studium Biblicum Franciscum directed the conservation of the mosaics. Notably, it resulted in the public viewing of the stag hunt mosaic for the first time since its discovery. Conservation work was made possible with the support of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (formerly the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities).
- Funding Agency:
- Greco-Roman Museum Mosaic Conservation project was made possible with funding by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Grant No. 263-G-00-93-00089-00 and administered by the Egyptian Antiquities Project (EAP) of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE).