Worldly Pursuits:Estate of Steve & Peggy Fossett

Provenance: Acquired from the Merrin Gallery, New York, May 5, 1987 Note: In the Roman period, elite private homes, villas, and public buildings such as bath houses and basilicas were often adorned with mosaic floors. These ranged from black and white simple geometric patterns to complex multicolored figural compositions. From whimsical to practical (i.e., the famed "Cave Canem" dog mosaic from Pompeii), to fantastical, to heroic and mythical, ancient mosaic flooring is an informative lens through which the modern viewer can learn a tremendous amount about ancient culture. Animals and the hunt were a favored subject of ancient mosaicists, especially in the eastern Empire. Large compositions incorporating multiple vignettes, like the present example, were especially suited to flooring as the ancient viewer would have the opportunity to engage with the variety of scenes as they made their way across the room.