An irregularly shaped mosaic fragment depicts a pattern of parallel and repeating waves running the length of the panel.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The curly stylized waves are rendered in black, and the background is off-white, all made in small mosaic pieces. The top starts with a black band, a line of waves below it, a second black band, another line of black waves but inverted, and then a third black band. The overall shape is a diagonal piece from left to right.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2016.54
Title
Fragment of mosaic with wave pattern
Classification
Mosaics
Work Type
mosaic
Date
4th century CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Samaria (Palestine)
Period
Roman Imperial period
Culture
Roman
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/7282

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Stone tesserae
Dimensions
67.3 cm h x 128.3 cm w x 3.8 cm d (26 1/2 x 50 1/2 x 1 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Building Adjacent to the Temple at Samaria/Sebaste (470N/650E), excavated; by the Joint Expedition to Samaria (Harvard University, Palestine Exploration Fund, Hebrew University Jerusalem, British Academy, the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem) (1931), dispersed; to Fogg Museum of Art, 1931.

NB: Excavated under the authority of the British Department of Antiquities, Jerusalem. Transferred to the Fogg Museum of Art in 1931 and accessioned in 2016.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of the Joint Expedition to Samaria, 1931-1933
Accession Year
2016
Object Number
2016.54
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Irregularly shaped mosaic fragment consisting of small white tesserae. A pattern of parallel and repeating waves runs the length of the panel in black tesserae (1).

1. AIEMA no. 190; R. and A. Ovadiah, Hellenistic, Roman and Early Byzantine Mosaic Pavements in Israel, (L’Erma di Bretschneider, 1987), p. 203 no. B7-8
Commentary
The wave pattern is used as a border-motif in Roman mosaics to surround central figural or geometric panels. This panel was found in a room from the building adjacent to the Temple at Samaria (470N/650E) (1).

1. J. Crowfoot and K. Kenyon, The Buildings at Samaria (London, 1942) p. 135.

Publication History

  • Michael Avi-Yonah, Mosaic Pavements of Palestine, Quarterly of the Department of Antiquities in Palestine (1934), vol. 3, pp. 26-73
  • John W. Crowfoot, Kathleen Kenyon, and E.L. Sukenik, The Buildings at Samaria (London, 1942)

Verification Level

This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu