Transcript The Nilotic Mosaic.ppt

The Nilotic Mosaic
The Basics
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Late 1st cent BC
Roman fascination with Egypt
Conquered 30 BC
Hellenistic Alexandria influence
Place – House of Faun, threshold of exedra on north side of first peristyle
Size – Occupied whole length of threshold – just under 70 cm across
Band interrupted by two columns
Content
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Flora and fauna of Nile River
Three pairs of animals confront each other
Ducks in background
Flora includes reeds and Indian Lotus flowers
Content
Hippopotamus often associated
with Nile and conventionally
shown immersed in water
Snake (cobra) regarded
favourably in Egypt.
Thought to embody or
accompany spirits of the
dead
The Ibis sacred to goddess
Isis and held in great esteem
by Egyptians. There was a
strong following of Isis in
Pompeii and Herculaneum
Crocodile virtually a symbol
of Egypt and appears in
coins struck by Augustus in
28 BC
Realistic
depiction
of depth
and space
Style
Foreshortening
Highlighting
Shading
Three quarter
view
Overlapping
Linear perspective – fauna in
background are smaller that those
in front, but not realistically
Shadowing
Composition