A History of the World in 100 Objects
Hinton St Mary Mosaic
Jun 3, 2010
Exploring the historical significance of a mosaic portrait of Jesus Christ found in a Roman villa in Dorset, England. Discussion on the coexistence of pagan and Christian influences during Roman rule in Britain. Highlighting the use of pagan material in Christian art to convey its message of resurrection. Exploring the difficulties faced by Dorset artists in depicting Christ and the significance of Emperor Constantine's conversion. Discussion on the potential connections between the mosaic and pagan gods of death and resurrection.
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Quick takeaways
- The Hinton St Mary mosaic, one of the earliest images of Christ, experimented with familiar iconographic forms to represent him in the absence of detailed descriptions or models of his physical appearance.
- The inclusion of pagan imagery, such as the depiction of Belerophon alongside Christ, and the symbolism of pomegranates, allowed early Christians to convey messages of resurrection and victory using familiar and popular stories.
Deep dives
The Experiment of Depicting Christ in Familiar Iconographic Form
Around 1700 years ago, in a Roman villa in Dorset, England, an exceptional mosaic depicting Christ was created. This mosaic, one of the earliest images of Christ, aimed to experiment with familiar iconographic forms to represent him. The mosaic artist faced a challenge as there were no detailed descriptions or models of Christ's physical appearance. Instead of using traditional attributes like a cross or light, the artist chose to depict Christ with a monogram, the Greek letters Kai and Rome, which symbolized his name, written similar to X and P in our alphabet.
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