Roman, Imperial Period, ca. 1st to 3rd century CE. A wonderful fragment of a border from a Roman mosaic depicting a 3-strand guilloche, all carefully delineated in dozens of black, mauve, gray, tan, and cream stone tesserae in rectangular and square forms. The gorgeous piece is set in a beautiful, modern frame made from wood. A superb example of Roman artistry from the domestic sphere! Size (of mosaic): 14" L x 4.5" W (35.6 cm x 11.4 cm); Size (of frame): 18.4" L x 8.6" W (46.7 cm x 21.8 cm)

Mosaics (opus tesellatum) are some of our enduring images from the Roman world, appreciated not only for their aesthetic beauty, but also because they reveal what Romans chose to depict and see every day decorating their private and public spaces. In the Roman province of Syria, which encompassed most of the ancient Near East/Levant, mosaics seem to have developed as a common art form relatively late, with most finds coming from the 3rd century CE or later. Syria was one of Rome's wealthiest provinces, but it was also far removed from Rome itself and Roman culture was overlaid on enduring cultural traditions from Hellenistic Greece and the great civilizations that came before it. Antioch-on-the-Orontes (modern day Antakya, Turkey), was the capital of northern Roman Syria, and its excavations in the 1930s revealed more than three hundred mosaic pavements.

Provenance: private Houston, Texas, USA collection; ex-private Houston, Texas, USA, collection, acquired before 2000

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#167333

Fragment of a larger piece. All stone tesserae are ancient and set in a modern matrix and wood frame. Minor nicks and abrasions to some tesserae, with light encrustations, and minor fading to original coloration. Otherwise, very nice with great earthen deposits throughout.