Mosaics of Roman Africa

Blanchard-Lemée, Michèle, et al. Mosaics of Roman Africa: Floor Mosaics from Tunisia. British Museum Press, 1996.

Mosaics of Roman Africa: Floor Mosaics from Tunisia is a comprehensive study of the intricate mosaic art that thrived in Roman Tunisia between the 2nd and 6th centuries AD. Authored by Michèle Blanchard-Lemée and a team of experts, the book features over 300 color illustrations, capturing the stunning beauty and complexity of these floor mosaics. Crafted from marble and limestone, these mosaics adorned the grand villas of Roman elites, showcasing mythological scenes, depictions of everyday life, and geometric patterns that reflect the opulence and culture of Roman Africa.

The book delves into the thematic content of these mosaics, focusing on pagan deities, mythological spectacles, and motifs of time, both eternal and cyclical. Despite the rise of Christianity in the region, the mosaics remain deeply rooted in Greco-Roman traditions, with subjects such as the asarotos oikos (unswept floor) motif, which creates a trompe l’oeil effect of food scraps scattered across the floor. One notable example is from the House of Salonin at Oudna, where this technique is vividly portrayed. These mosaics offer a unique visual insight into the social and cultural dynamics of the Roman-African elite.

In addition to the rich artistic content, the book also explores the social significance of these mosaics, emphasizing their role as symbols of wealth and power. Through detailed commentary and historical context, Mosaics of Roman Africa reveals how these artworks reflect the complex ethnic and social hierarchies of Roman North Africa. This volume is an essential reference for art historians, archaeologists, and scholars of Roman civilization, offering both a visual and scholarly analysis of these remarkable works.

This is an large coffee table book with many beautiful color photos. It's 13"tall x 11¾"wide x 1¼"thick. The book is in very good condition with the original dust jacket, which has a small tear in one of the binding corners of the dust jacket. ISBN: 9780714122151 / 0714122157.

I'm asking $150.

This is the text from the dust jacket flap:

During the days of the Roman Empire, between the 2nd and 6th century, some of the most spectacular mosaics in the history of art were created in the area largely comprised by present-day Tunisia. Ironically, these mosaics were designed as floor pavements, to be walked upon by the patrons that commissioned them as well as the public.

Collected in this splendid volume are some of the most accomplished examples of these extraordinary mosaics--many of which have never before been published. They include those still in place at archaeological sites in Sousse, El Djem, Nabeul, Thyna and Sfax, as well as those currently held by small museums across northern Africa.

Designed and produced by workshops staffed with master artists  and skilled craftsmen, the floors were commissioned by provincial aristocrats seeking to display their social status and opulent lifestyles. The mosaics abound with images of exuberant plant forms, with animals both real and imaginary, and with individuals⏤nobles, farmers, huntsmen, charioteers and wrestlers⏤going about their daily activities. Watching over them are the various divinities: Neptune with his Nereids, images of the muses, Venus and her entourage.

As few paintings survive from this period, mosaics remain our richest legacy of the magnificent lifestyles enjoyed in northern Africa at the beginning of the millennium. These works of art offer insight into the lives and desires of those who lived in their midst, and inspire the same visual delight they surely elicited when first created.

With 240 colour plates.