| Paintings and mosaics in Pompeii and Ercolano: |
Birds on a basin with panther
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 This
emblem, found in 1855 in S. Maria Capua Vetere (the modern name
for ancient Capua), is a variation of the renowned Sosos mosaic
from Pergamum of which we are reminded by Pliny (Nat.Hist.XXXVI,
184) on account of the admirable rendering given to the
reflection in the waters of the basin of a dove that is perched
on the edge waiting to drink. Mosaic copies of the original from
Pergamum, granted that the one found in Villa Adriana might
actually be the Sosos work itself, have been found at Delos,
Pompeii (VIII 2, 34; this is the liveliest both for the number
of doves that have been depicted and for the fact that one of
them is still flying), Ostia and Rabat, not to mention the more
than thirty-six garden-painting variations that have been
enumerated so far.
The basin is low-footed, hemispherical and in gilded bronze. In
other less faithful versions, the legs are higher and may be
lion-pawed or sheep-toed. Perched on the edge are two parrots of
slightly different plumage and a columba livia with its head
bowed towards the water upon which there floats a small leaf.
The recipient is supported by a high cubic base near which we
can see a pomegranate and a feline beast, all details added on
by the Campanian mosaic-worker.
The insertion into the original plan of what was for the Greeks
(and even more so for the Romans) such an exotic species of
birds as the parrot, is especially interesting. It acts as a
sort of point of indirect contact with the Eastern world, which
had been established in a more long-lasting fashion by Alexander
the Great's Indian campaign. The lack of precision in the
painting of the plumage, in which we can see characteristics of
different species all mixed up, seems to confirm lack of direct
knowledge of these birds, and the absence of any pictorial model
upon which the copy-artist might have based his work.
Another interesting element which helps us understand the manner
in which Roman age copy-artists worked is the cat. It is not
only quite out of proportion with respect to the birds and the
pomegranate, but its shadow lies towards the right, as if the
scene was illuminated by light from the left side, despite the
fact the this detail is not supported in other areas of the
composition; this is another clear sign that the picture has
been put together, almost mechanically, from as number of
different cartoon features.
Bibliography: G. Minervini, BullArchNap, n.s. 4 (1855) cc.
50-51; Pernice Die hellenistische Kunst in Pompeji VI. pavimente
und figürliche Mosaiken, Berlin l938, pp.165-166; Meyboom 1977,
p. 89, n.266; Tammisto 1997, pp. 72-81, 380-381
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Fonte: MANN
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