Athena Review Image Archive ™
Autun: Gallo Roman Mosaic of Neptune, sea bull (2nd-3rd c.AD)
Autun: Sea bull in Mosaic of Neptune (Musee Rolin; photo: Athena Review 2012)
This image of a sea bull is one of four remaining fragments of the Mosaic of Neptune. It was discovered in
the remains of a Gallo-Roman house in Autun, dating from the late
2nd or early 3rd century AD.
The original mosaic composition showed Neptune in a chariot pulled by two pairs of horses. The sea bull, with its somewhat imaginative, fish-like tail, was placed in the upper left corner of the original design. Neptune held a trident, the base of which can be seen here.
This late 2nd-early 3rd century mosaic (inv. 1565) is made of various elements, including polychrome ceramic tesserae, marble fragments, and pieces of glass.
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