Mosaic of the House of Citharist of Pompeii
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.The head of the Gorgon Medusa appears in the center of this mosaic floor panel, framed by a scale pattern of black-and-white bands with kantharoi or drinking cups in the corners. Feared for her ability to turn the living into stone, Medusa’s visage protected household members from harm, and is frequently found in Roman mosaics of this period. This example once adorned a small room in one of the most prominent residences in Pompeii, the House of the Citharist. It remained in place for more than a century even as the richly decorated house was renovated, expanded, and refurbished. The building was buried in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE.
Artwork Details
- Title: Mosaic of the House of Citharist of Pompeii
- Period: Late Republican
- Date: second half of the 1st c. BCE
- Culture: Roman
- Medium: Mosaic
- Dimensions: 78 3/4 × 78 3/4 × 4 3/4 in., 551.2 lb. (200 × 200 × 12 cm, 250 kg)
- Classification: Miscellaneous-Mosaic
- Credit Line: Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN)
- Object Number: L.2024.1
- Curatorial Department: Greek and Roman Art
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