OPUS SECTILE FLOOR, 385-388 CE. MUSEO DELLE CIVILTÀ This extraordinary opus sectile pavement only finds comparisons in the House of Cupid and Psyche in Ostia and in the Diocletianic opus sectile floor of the Curia Senatus, which has been heavily restored. Here we have a background of giallo antico and a complex pattern of polygonal shapes with three recurrent themes, the circle, the four-pointed star, and the strange pelta or C-shaped shield. At the centre of each four-pointed star is a circle of alternating porphyry and serpentino set inside a round frame, or a circle of those marbles inset with a square of giallo antico or brecciated white marble. Within the octagons created between the stars, on a background of pavonazzetto, are circles framed with porphyry, with four peltæ in serpentino. This is a sophisticated and expensive floor, and the room must have had a public or ceremonial function.

#MosaicMonday takes us back to the #MuseodelleCiviltà in #Rome, this time to look at the dazzling #opussectile floor of the #domus of #PortaMarina from #OstiaAntica, 385-388 CE. Its complex #geometric design makes it the most perfect floor of its kind in #LateAntiquity. #AncientBluesky 🏺

This delightful cephalopod in giallo antico was found in a pile of similar loose pieces of cut stone on the floor of the opus sectile hall of the domus of Porta Marina. Evidently they had never been installed, as they had no trace of the adhesive material (bitumen) that held such pieces to the wall. Was this house abandoned before it was finished, or did the design plans change midway? It is certainly hard to place this octopus in the decorative program of the room. On the tentacles, the suckers are clearly indicated, and there are two eyes on the main body, with a rather irregularly inscribed line within the main body, outlining most of it but creating a concave curve between the eyes, giving this octopus a worried frown.

Floating up from the darkness of late antiquity is this #opussectile #octopus from the #domus of #PortaMarina in #OstiaAntica, now in the #MuseodelleCiviltà in #Rome. This sea creature in giallo antico comes from somewhere in the famous opus sectile room, dating from 385-388 CE. #MosaicMonday 🏺

Two partial faces in opus sectile, made in a very simple, almost childlike style, with round open eyes in white marble, open mouths without lips (missing or never made) and skin in giallo antico. They seem to be watching the approaching disaster, whether by sea or by earthquake, that shattered the structure possibly even before it was finished.

#MosaicMonday brings us to the #MuseodelleCiviltà in #Rome for these two faces in #opussectile from the #domus of #PortaMarina in #OstiaAntica, dating to 385-388 CE. This splendid house had a mysteriously short life, and these faces seem to be reacting to imminent destruction. #AncientBluesky 🏺

OPUS SECTILE OF THE DOMUS OF PORTA MARINA, 385-388 CE. MUSEO DELLE CIVILTÀ This central alcove of the domus of Porta Marina is decorated in an extraordinary, indeed unique way. Instead of the figurative and geometric designs of the larger part of the hall, this area, which was found without a floor, has two registers. The lower one is composed of a small diagonal grid of mosaic that resembles a mosaic pavement without a discernable pattern. The upper, larger register imitates in opus sectile a brick structure with four arches at centre on the back wall flanked by two flat-topped sections. Behind, within, above, and below the giallo antico "brick" is a backdrop of marble "opus reticulatum", a style of construction that had ceased to be used long before this was made. This strange wall reminds me irresistibly of the opus mixtum tombs outside Porta Romana at the other end of Ostia's Decumanus Maximus. In the foreground is the magnificent pavement of the main hall.

#MosaicMonday once again draws us back to the #MuseodelleCiviltà in the #EUR in the south of #Rome to marvel at the #domus of #PortaMarina from #OstiaAntica, where a central alcove imitates humble brick and #tufo, complete with shadows, in costly #opussectile. #AncientBluesky 🏺

OPUS SECTILE OF THE DOMUS OF PORTA MARINA, 385-388 CE. MUSEO DELLE CIVILTÀ This is the most magnificent interior from late-antique Ostia. The room is divided into two parts, with the smaller part, a large alcove, visible at far right. The main part of the hall has a surviving floor, which repeats the geometric themes of the wall, particularly an almost obsessive use of peltæ-like shapes, but these are fancier than ordinary peltæ, which originally represented the shields of the barbarian Amazons. The north wall is separated from the alcove by a huge acanthus-scrolled pilaster. The lowest register of the wall is made of large panels of giallo antico with complex frames separated by smaller panels in serpentino and giallo antico. Above this is a register which picks up the acanthus-scroll theme of the pilasters. The next register up, very fragmentary, shows large scenes of tigers attacking animals, in this case a stag, and a further register, almost nonexistent, has circles and geometric shapes.

#MosaicMonday takes us back to the #MuseodelleCiviltà in the #EUR, and to the breathtaking #opussectile hall of the #domus of #PortaMarina in #OstiaAntica, to get an overall view of the north wall. This is #LateAntiquity at its most refined, a real masterpiece of stonework. #AncientBluesky 🏺

OPUS SECTILE OF THE DOMUS OF PORTA MARINA, 385-388 CE. MUSEO DELLE CIVILTÀ This astonishing opus sectile work, of which we see only a detail here, comes from a building outside Porta Marina, the Sea Gate of Ostia Antica, and closes off the space between the end of the Decumanus Maximus, the main east-west street of the city, and the ancient shore. With the front door open, it was probably possible to see the beach across a courtyard. This room north of the entrance opens onto the courtyard peristyle. It was discovered in 1942 but excavations only ended in 1962. Most of the dazzling marble decoration had to be pieced together as it was found on the floor. Here we see at centre an image of Christ, with a halo and brown beard (! Early for the beard) making a gesture of benediction. On panels to either side there are two peltæ-like curved forms, and the register above has a marvellous vegetal scroll in serpentino; the lowest register shows large framed panels in giallo antico.

#MosaicMonday for the next few weeks will be obsessing over the incredible #opussectile room of #PortaMarina, from the very edge of #OstiaAntica, though the room is now hidden away in the former Museo dell'Alto Medioevo in the #EUR. #Christ takes centre stage on the south wall. #AncientBluesky 🏺