Peacock Mosaic
A reconstructed "carpet" mosaic based on the surviving fragments (in color), which were divided among sponsoring institutions after excavation. It was found in an upper level of the "House of the Bird Rinceau" in Daphne and dates from 526-40 AD.
The mosaic was nearly 700 square feet in size (the peacock fragment on top is 12.5 feet long). The mosaic border is rich with Christian themes, which has not been common in the other Antioch mosaics discovered so far. Inhabited vines and paired peacocks flanking baskets of grapes or wine vessels were popular motifs in early Christian art. The images can be read as a sign of the beauty of God's creation and as a promise of salvation, and suggest Jesus' words in John 15:1-5: "I am the true vine..." Scrolling vines frileld with creatures from land, air and sea became the central design for church floors, especially in the fifth and sixth centuries (illustrated, for example, in the nave pavement of the Justinian Basilica at Sabratha, Libya). The motif of inhabited vines also decorated precious objects such as the Antioch Chalice.
See the next photo for a better view and more information on the top peacock mosaic fragment.
Clockwise from the left, the border fragments belong to: Baltimore Museum of Art, Worcester Art Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, St. Louis Art Museum, Princeton University Art Museum, and the Louvre.
Computer reconstruction: Wes Chilton. Information from Antioch: The Lost Ancient City
