ARCE

Close up of mosaic tesserae partially depicting border, griffin, and gazelle, with lacuna partially visible, after conservation

Description:
Close up of mosaic tesserae partially depicting border, griffin, and gazelle, with lacuna 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, Animals in art, Borders, Ornamental (Decorative arts), Damage--Antiquities, Mosaics, Tesserae, and Stonework
Genre:
color photographs and documentary photography
Conservation Note:
A griffin with an eagle's head and spread wings. Its body is made of creamy-white tesserae with pink stones used for the shading and the beard. The crest and the tongue were marked with red terracotta cubes, the lower lip of yellowish stones. A black pebble for the eye has a red stone as highlight. Lead strips were used for the contours and details of feathers, beak and muscles. The claws were of white specially-cut pieces, in similarity to the other animal representations (Final Remarks Report).
Copyright Status:
copyrighted
Creative Commons License:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Local ID:
arce_ca_mmc_images_0035.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).