The Great Palace Mosaic Museum was originally part of the Great Palace complex of Byzantine Constantinople. The site, which included a peristyle courtyard (an enclosed courtyard surrounded by columns) that led to a hall, is one of the few extensively excavated sections of the palace, while its mosaic floor is one of the best surviving examples of art from Late Antiquity. The date and identity of the various structures of the complex are controversial, though it is clear it had various phases, including a marble floor that later covered the mosaic floor.
The mosaic floor belonged to three sides of a peristyle (55.5 x 66.5 m), which consisted of colonnaded porticoes and a courtyard. The substructures of the hall, along with substructures of other buildings on its northeastern and southwestern sides, were found to the southeast of the peristyle. This hall had the same orientation as the Hippodrome. Earlier phases of the site were also discovered during surveys and excavations. The site was initially surveyed by Mamboury and Wiegand in 1934. It was later excavated by the University of St. Andrews in Scotland over two campaigns in 1935-38 and 1952-54, with the first campaign unearthing a peristyle and its mosaics, and the second discovering the remains of an hall. The mosaics were restored between 1983 and 1997. The museum was opened to the public in 1987.
The earliest phase of this site consists of a cistern found under the southwestern portico and a paved way that aligned with a building predating the hall. This phase also involved the construction of piers that were the substructures of this earlier building to the southeast. Findings in the cistern include a lamp probably dating to the 4th-5th century and unfinished impost capitals. Furthermore, around half of the bricks of this cistern had stamps. A peristyle was later built over the paved way, as it goes under the northwestern portico. Its outer walls consisted of stones with mortared joints and a rubble core. There was a corridor outside the northwestern wall of the peristyle, which continued to the southwest past the peristyle. It communicated with a marble-paved room to the southwest, while marble steps were found to the northwest. There was also a groin-vaulted cellar beneath the corridor.
Most scholars now agree that the peristyle mosaic cannot be earlier than the reign of Justinian I (527-565). It is possible that the earlier phase of the site was a Justinianic addition to the Great Palace. The peristyle and its mosaic have been attributed to many emperors, including Justin II (565-578), Tiberius II (578-582), Maurice (582-602), and Heraclius (610-641). Recent research has suggested that the paved way and a cistern might date to around the late 5th-early 6th century, while the mosaic peristyle and hall perhaps date between the late 6th and early 7th century. The later phase of the peristyle, which involved covering the mosaic floor with marble paving, has been variously dated from the late 7th to the 9th century. The mosaic floor at the museum belongs to three sides of a peristyle.
It has been estimated that the original mosaic floor had a total area of around 1,900 m², though less than a quarter of the mosaics now survives. Enough, though, has survived to reveal the general character of the work. The mosaic had a lavish inhabited scroll along its borders, with a field of white tesserae set in a scale or fan pattern. Within this field, there are at least 75 scenes or fragments of scenes arranged in four horizontal registers that are the only structure in the field. The figure style is highly naturalistic, with the unrelated scenes having the character of vignettes. There are no frames or other separating devices, except for occasional trees marking the boundaries between scenes, though they are more often simply part of the scenes themselves. These scenes also differ in scale and do not share a unified space; they are juxtaposed without apparent logic, with idyllic village life and children’s games being found next to scenes of violence. Their motifs can be grouped into thematic categories, including scenes involving animals portrayed on their own, being hunted, or fighting other animals
Mosaics layout.
Mythological and allegorical scenes
1. Bellerophon and the Chimera
2. Reclining semi-nude figure
3. Satyr carrying child
4. Samson and the lion
Scenes of daily life
5. Boy putting basket over hare
6. Shepherd with lute and dog and two mares, one with foal
7. Shepherd milking goats, boy with large jar for milk
8. Boy offering feedbag to donkey
9. Woman carrying large jar on her shoulder
10. Boys herding geese
11. Woman nursing baby
12. Fisherman
13. Boy with lamb
14. Seated person with small fish (fragmentary)
15. Herdsman with three goats
16. Shaking fruit out of a tree (fragmentary)
17. Man kicked by a mule
18. Camel ride
19. Two peasants hoeing
Hunting
20. Hare hunt with two hounds and trident
21. Boar hunt (and swampy habitat of the boar?)
22. Hare hunt with four hounds
23. Boar hunt (fragmentary)
24. Two hounds pursuing gazelle
25. Soldier and leopard
26. Mounted spearman pursuing two antelope
“Hunting” in the arena
27. Swordsman and tiger
28. Two spearmen and tiger
Predation and animal combats
Fights or predation scenes as they might occur in nature
29. Small bird predation (shrike?)
30. Two leopards eating an antelope
31. Lion and prey (fragmentary)
32. Hawk and small bird
33. Lion and onager(?)
34. Leopard and deer
35. Bear eating a kid(?)
36. Mongoose and prey
37. Elephant and lion
Fanciful or symbolic fights and predation scenes
38. Deer and snake
39. “Griffin” and lizard
40. Eagle and snake
41. Griffin and camel(?)
Real animals
42. Grazing wild goat
43. Grazing sheep
44. Elephant with rider (fragmentary)
45. Monkey harvesting dates
46. Bear in a tree (fleeing griffin?)
47. Reclining cow with other domestic animals (fragmentary)
48. Lion (fragmentary, possible part of violent scene with the preceding)
49. Two antelope
50. Two deer (fragmentary)
51. Wild goat(?)
52. Lion
53. Lion with rocky habitat (fragmentary)
54. Two horses browsing on a tree
Fantastic animals
55. One-horned “griffin”
56. Eagle-beaked griffin
Figural scenes
57. Circus parody with boys racing with hoops
58. Soldier with shield and spear
59. Soldier with shield and spear
Non-figural scenes
60. Date palm and portico
61. Arched bridge
62. Water mill
63. Fountain
64. Building with water gushing through it
Scenes with multiple elements
65. Shepherd with three goats; dog watches them; wolf steals a kid
66. Bear attacks person while another bear pulls fruit from tree for cubs
67. Shepherd rescues a lamb while wolf eats a sheep
Fragmentary Scenes
68. Boy
69. Donkey
70. Female figure crossing a stream
71. Mounted archer 72. Fragmentary figure
73. Lioness(?)
74. Figure with hat
75. Man with long hair
General view of the Museum
Man feeding a donkey
Hunting the Tiger
Hunting the Lion with a Bow and Arrow
The Eagle and the Snake.
The motif, symbolising the victory of light over darkness, is widespread in all of antiquity (e.g. as a sepulchral symbol on Attic funeral steles from the 5th century BCE). It was depicted on the monumental pyre that Alexander the Great had erected for his deified friend Hephaistion in Babylon (324 BCE), and it formed part of the standards of the Roman army. Defeat is inevitable for the snake that has wound itself around the raptor’s body.
The Stag and the Snake.
The stag was considered an adversary ot the snake ever since early Hellenistic times; with its breath it draws the reptile from its pit, and immune to its poison. Here too, the snake has wound itself around the enemy’s body. The stag bows its head so as to get a better grip on the snake. As a result, its legs are slightly abbreviated in the picture.
Mother breast feeding a baby
The Large Hunting Scene
A Group of Bears.
A half standing bear has attacked a man who has dropped to his knees. Of his clothes we still recognise a loose tunic, a cloak taken up at the right shoulder and sandals. In the background, a (probably female) bear has climbed a pomegranate tree to shake loose some fruits for it young that sits under the tree.
A Bear climbing a tree
A Herdsman Milking a Goat.
A bearded man in red herdsman’s apparel (exomis) sits next to a simple reed cabin with leaves over the door. His furrowed brow signals old age. While he milks oue of the long haired goats, a boy to his left, dressed in a short blue tunic, is busy with a milk jug. Numerous depictions of pastoral life in Roman sepulchral art point to the existence of pattern books that served as models for such motifs. The Stallion, Mare and Foal grazing horses in the wild symbolising a peaceful rural life, were a popular subject of Roman ssarcophagi in the imperial period.
Two Boys Riding a Dromedary and their Guide.
A rarely depicted scene, it is part of a group of childrens pictures included in the Palace Mosaic. Two boys ride a dromedary led by the rein by a very tall man dressed in a belted chiton and boots. The boy in front appears to be the scion of an aristocratic house. He is adorned with a wreath and holds a tame bird in his hands, while the second boy, his playmate, is not distinguished by any attributes. Their plastic appearance is achieved by white highlights on their tunics.
Children Playing the Hoop Game.
Four boys drive two hoops each with sticks. Two boys wear tunics trimmed in blue, and other tunics edged in green, an allusion to the Blues and Greens at the circus. chariot teams at the hippodrome which also represent political factions in Constantinople. The two turning colums (metae) indicate that the scene is a race track. Portrayals of playing children a favorite motifs in Roman sarcophagi decoration.
The Child Dionysos Riding on Pans Sholders.
One of the few mythological scenes of the Palace Mosaic is Dionysos’s triumphal procession from India. The scene is unusual in that it shows the god as achild. A wreath of leaves in his hair, a wily expression on his dark face, Dionysos grips the horns of the goat footed Pan, who wears a shaggy fur across his left shoulder and holds a stick in each hand, probably parts of a double flute. An Africian elephant trots behind Pan and Dionysos, driven by a man whose right hand holding a prodding stick is still visible.
A Small Boy and Dog.
The boy’s overtly large head- compared to his body- appears to be intentional to emphasise his childlike apperance. But whether intentional or not, the innocent charmof his round features (his little arms, legs and cheeks) is well depicted. Bare-footed, clothed in a red tunic, the little boy is earnestly enjoying the attentions of his grey doggy.
The Lion Griffin.
Fabulous creatures are a favourite subject of the Palace Mosaic, depicting with the same seeming accurary as the real animals. The muscles of the grey brown lion griffin are made to stand out from its body by dark shadows. One of the ambling animal’s wings is still visible.
The Okapi headed Leopard Griffin.
The creature, known in ancient times as the winged unicorn, resembles a leopard in the patterning and colour of its body. Its head and neck, however, are an enigma. A horned projection grows from its forehead, and four sharp teeth are wedged in its slightly gaping, fiery red mouth. Because of the extraordinary shape of its head, the mysterious creature has recently been associated with an Okapi.
Hunter with Spear and Shield
The Tigress Griffin
Another rarity, this griffin again bears withness to the imagination of the artists working on the Palace Mosaic. Its head. legs and tail are those of a tiger, its teats indicate a tigress. Two mighty wings emphasise its majestically erect pose; its forehead is crowned with horns. The blood sprouting from the body of the dark green lizard about to be devoured by the griffin bespeaks its deadly bite.
The Masked Head in the Acanthus Scroll
Masked figure used as a repeating element
Map of Great Palace area
Bear Killing Deer
Hunting Mosaic
Mother Breastfeeding Baby
The Monkey as a bird Catcher
A Women carring a Jug on her Shoulder
Bellerophon and the Chimaera
Of the mounted hero, only the lance tip used to slay the monster is visible,together with the hind legs of his horse Pegasus/ The three heads of the beast are well defined: the three forked tounge darts from the lions mouth; out of the back grows the goats head, at which Bellerophon points his lance; and the serpants head sits at the end of its tail.