Mosaics of Alexandria

Anne-Marie Guimier-Sorbets is professor emerita of archaeology and Greek history of art at the University of Paris-Nanterre and a specialist in Greek architecture and architectural décor. In collaboration with the Centre d’Etudes Alexandrines over a period of some twenty-five years, she has authored numerous studies on Alexandrian archaeological material of domestic and funerary contexts. Since 2015, Guimier-Sorbets has served as president of the International Association for the Study of Ancient Mosaics.Colin Clement is a writer and translator who lives in Alexandria.

"An unprecedented exploration . . . This volume is easily browsed and could serve as a reference book on mosaic technique, iconography, architectural context, and workshop production. Included are never-before-published pictures of mosaics and an interesting glimpse of contemporary mosaics. . . Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers."—CHOICE"Handsome. . . . will reward the reader with arresting visual images presented with the author’s infectious enthusiasm for her subject, and the breadth of knowledge that underlies it."—Current World Archaeology

• Preface 9A Brief History of the Mosaic 13What Is a Mosaic? 13The First Greek Mosaics 13Sources of Inspiration and Applied Techniques 13The Development of the Mosaic in Ptolemaic Alexandria 14Spotlight 1. Mortar Floors 16Spotlight 2. Mortar Floors with Stone Chips and Plaques 18Chapter 1: The First Mosaics of Alexandria 21The Oldest Mosaic of Alexandria 21The Hunter Surrounded by Wild Animals 21Spotlight 3. Floor Techniques: Mosaics of Pebblesand Tesserae, Lead Strips 22Spotlight 4. A Mythical Animal: The Griffin 28The Little Hunters of Shatby 29Spotlight 5: The Animals of the Hunting Erotes Mosaic 39Chapter 2: Imitating Painting, Color Conquers 43The Royal Portraits of Thmuis 43Spotlight 6. The Use of Faience 46Mosaics from the Palaces of Alexandria 51Spotlight 7. The Use of Large Regular Tesserae 60Chapter 3: Techniques and Style 67The Hellenistic Era: New Motifs, Added Color 67Polychrome swastika meander with squares in perspective 67Cubes in perspective 67Spotlight 8. Origins and Development of a Motif:The Palm Trunk (Stipe) Garland 68Fleurons made of bipartite leaves 70The gorgoneion 70Spotlight 9. Egyptian Blue, Revealed by VIL Photography 72The gorgoneion in the center of a fleuron 77The Imperial Period 82Evolving techniques and materials 82The choice of motifs, their treatment, and the composition of the pavements 82The origins and evolution of a mosaic motif: The guilloche 84Continuity and innovation in the types of mosaic and flooring 88Chapter 4: The Iconography of Mosaics 91Mythological Scenes 91When a satyr meets a nymph 91Lycurgus and Ambrosia 93Alpheus and Arethusa 95A Taste for Representations of Animals 97The birds 97The pavement of the birds at Kom al-Dikka 99A bird emblema 102Spotlight 10. The Birds of Rhodes 105Fish 107The popularity of polychrome animal panels 107Nilotic Scenes and Other Aquatic Representations 108Nilotic scenes of the Ptolemaic period 108Nilotic scenes of the imperial period 108The marine mosaic with Erotes 118Chapter 5: Mosaics in Their Architectural Context 123Baths in the Fayoum and Upper Egypt in the Ptolemaic Period 123The Zenon archive and the baths of the House of Diotimos 123The Greek baths of Diospolis Parva and Karnak 123Mosaic Decoration in Houses of the Imperial Period 127The Villa of the Birds in Kom al-Dikka 127The House of Medusa on the Diana Theater site 129Chapter 6: The Organization of Production 139Where and How Did the Mosaicist Work? 139The Emblema Technique and Mixed Laying Technique 139Hellenistic emblemata 139Spotlight 11. Ptolemais, Cyrenaica, Three Alexandrianemblemata from the Hellenistic Period 140Emblemata of the imperial period 143Spotlight 12. The Workshop of the Medusa emblemata from the Diana Theater Site 144Mixed laying technique 145Opus Sectile 146Did Alexandrians practice opus sectile in the Ptolemaic period? 147Sectilia pavimenta of the imperial period 148Mural panels in opus sectile of the Late Roman period 156Chapter 7: Late Antiquity: Pagan and Christian Contexts 159In Alexandria: The Mosaic of Sultan Hussein Street 159In the Sinai Region: The Mosaics of Shaykh Zuweid and of Pelusium 163Middle Egypt: The Mosaic of Antinoopolis 170Mosaics in the Christian Context 170The monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai 170Alexandria and the Mareotid: An archaeological vacuum 173Kellia: a conservation zone for the decor 173Mosaics reproduced in paint in the world of the desert hermits, by Denis Weidmann 173An opus sectile of glass plaques, by Denis Weidmann 179Chapter 8: The Role of Alexandria in the Historyof the Ancient Mosaic 181The Hellenistic Period: Alexandrian Workshops outsideEgypt 181The Nilotic mosaic of Palestrina 181The mosaics of the House of the Faun at Pompeii 182Alexander and Darius 183Nilotic panels 185Garland with masks 185Symplegma 186Dionysus on a tiger 186The lion 186Doves 189Xenia, cat, and bird 189A seascape with fauna 189Floors of plaques and opera sectilia 191Other Alexandrian elements in the House of the Faun 194Alexandria’s Role during the Imperial Period 197Chapter 9: At the Dawn of the ThirdMillennium . . . the Mosaic Art Blooms Again in Alexandria 201Notes. 212Catalogue of the Mosaics 215Appendices 234Concordances 237Bibliographic References 241Image Credits 253Acknowledgments 256