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| Titles |
Mosaic with Venator and Lions: |
| Name |
Angela Kalinowski |
| Type of Resource |
still image |
| Genre |
Mosaic |
| Abstract |
The mosaic is fragmentary. The surviving portion shows a venator spearing a lion; to the left the forepaws of another lion are visible. Spears are placed above and below this scene; above the upper spear are the beginnings of what appears to be another scene. The scene is placed in the amphitheatre which in indicated by the rectangular and square panels that surround the scene. In the rectangle panels above are spectators. Some of the square panels represent the variegated marble panel that lined the podium wall of the amphitheatre. In others (right and below) small figures carrying large cloths emerge from doors into the arena. These figures may be other venators, or amphitheatre attendants whose job it was to scare the animals into action.
There is also a close up of a venator/amphitheatre attendant emerging from a door into the arena. He wears a belted tunic that falls above the knee and high boot-like footwear. His tunic is not unlike that of the venator pictured in the main scene except that he has no chest guard. The door from which he emerges is painted yellow and is decorated with what may be metal bosses. |
| Physical Location |
Musée Nationale du Bardo, Tunis |
| Form |
nonprojected graphic |
| Note |
Dates to c. 3rd century CE. This mosaic represents the munus that was given to the public by the owner of the house, which is indicated by the representation of the spectators (Dunbabin 1978: p.70). |
| Access Condition |
Attributed to Angela Kalinowski under the license CC-BY-NC 4.0 |
| Access Condition |
CC-BY-NC 4.0 |
| Subject Local Name |
--Mosaic--Roman--Animal--Lion--Venator--Animal Show--Amphitheatre--Arena--Spear--Equipment--Spectator------3rd c. CE |
| Note |
Dunbabin, Katherine M.D. The Mosaics of Roman North Africa: Studies in Iconography and Patronage. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1978.
Picard, G.-Ch., BAC (1943-5), 123-6. Cf. K.M.D. Dunbabin (1978), 69-70 and Plate no. 55. |