Close up of mosaic tesserae depicting Eros partially visible hunting stag, after conservation
- Description:
- Close up of mosaic tesserae depicting Eros partially visible hunting stag, 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 gods, Greek mythology, Love, Wildlife-related recreation, 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 the second Eros standing facing left, his head in left profile. He is leaning forward, supporting himself on his right leg, while the left is extended back. He is about to strike the stag with a sword held in his raised right hand. The sheath, indicated with red terracotta tesserae, hangs at his left side. The belt, made of red and pink tesserae, runs across his right shoulder. In his left hand, he holds a yellow lance with a bluish blade pointing downwards. His white wings are spread wide. The ends of the feathers are not pale yellow as thought previously, but grayish white. His body is of creamy-white tesserae with part of the contours and shadows in light pink and pale yellow stones emphasized with lead. The thick bushy hair is made of yellow and brown pebbles and wide lead strips. A golden diadem (made of yellow tesserae) adorns his head, golden bracelets decorate his wrists and ankles. His eye, nose tip and fingertips are made of specially cut stones.
- Copyright Status:
- copyrighted
- Creative Commons License:
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
- Local ID:
- arce_ca_mmc_images_0026.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).