Londinium, Architecture and the CraftsLethaby, W. R. (William Richard)
History
Londinium, Architecture and the Crafts
Lethaby, W. R. (William Richard)
England -- Antiquities, Roman; London (England) -- Antiquities, Roman; Romans -- England -- London
It was described at the time of finding as having formed a square of 28
ft.; it was diagonally about north and south and 15 ft. below the
surface. The central subject was “Ariadne or a Bacchante reclining on a
panther.” In _V.C.H._ it was said to be “Europa on the Bull,” but the
drawings agree with the former description. The composition is very
similar to the Bacchus, and doubtless a wine cup was held by the
Bacchante also. Notice that vases appear elsewhere in the design. The
panel was about 2½ ft. square. This fine floor was taken to the Crystal
Palace, where it seems to have disappeared. From its size and subject we
may suppose that it was the floor of the central dining-hall of some big
house. The drawing and balanced design of the central group is
wonderfully skilful as space filling. Fig. 91 is based on original
drawings of the floor at the Society of Antiquaries and the British
Museum and a sketch in the Wollaston Collection at South Kensington.
This mosaic should be compared with a floor found at Bignor, which is
very similar in its details, and probably, I think, by the same artist.
There the centre is occupied by Jove’s eagle and Ganymede, the cupbearer
to the gods.
_Vase-Panel Mosaic._—In his account of discoveries at Bucklersbury,
Price describes a floor found in St. Mildred’s Court which must have
been one of the finer kind. “A square enclosed a circle containing a
vase in brown, red and white with the addition of bright green glass.
Around the vase there appeared portions of a tree with foliage; also an
object resembling an archway with embattled figures and other objects,
the meaning of which is difficult to describe without an illustration.
Around the whole were two simple bands of black tesseræ separating the
circle from an elaborate scroll of foliage and flowers, analogous to
that on one of the pavements at Bignor. At each corner was a flower
showing eight petals of varied colours. From the centre of each sprang
two branches, which united in a leaf in form like that within the
scroll. The entire design is bordered by the guilloche in seven
intertwining bands of black, red, brown and white tesseræ. A drawing of
this interesting floor was in the possession of Mr. G. Plucknett.” The
central panel must have been a formal landscape—a large wine krater
backed by a tree and an arcade with figures on the parapet. In another
place Price names it again amongst mosaics which had glass tesseræ;
probably the tree was of green glass. This pavement also doubtless
occupied a dining-hall. In an earlier account (_London and Middlesex
Archæol. Soc. Proceed._ iii.) Price says: “When perfect it was of some
extent, resembling those discovered at East India House and the Excise
Office. In the centre was a vase similar to those at the Excise Office,
and around it a scroll of foliage beautifully arranged. The fragments
were packed in cases and sent to the workshops of Messrs. Cubitt.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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