Floor mosaic depicting a rooster

Dateca. 450-550 AD

MediumMarble tesserae

DimensionsDiameter: 31 5/8 inches (80.3 cm)

CultureSyrian (Roman Province)

ClassificationsMosaics

Credit LineGift of Professor M. H. Abrams and Ruth Abrams

Terms

Suriyah
Mosaics
Marble tesserae
Animals
Birds
Roosters
Concrete
Syrian

Object number80.110

Label CopyProvenance:

by 1970 with Asfar Bros., Beirut, Lebanon [1]; 1970-80 Professor and Mrs. Meyer H. Abrams, Ithaca (sold through Asfar Bros.) [2]; 1980 collection of Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca (gift of Professor and Mrs. Meyer H. Abrams) [3]

N.B. Provenance is based on research into historic information and documentation. Such research is ongoing, and records may be revised or updated from time to time. Complete provenance is the exception, not the rule.

[1] – [3] Deed of Gift, signed and dated 16 Dec. 1980; Cataloguing Worksheet, undated.

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Label Text:

This mosaic is believed to have originated in an early Christian church in Homs, Syria. In Christian iconography, roosters symbolize Christ’s resurrection because they are the first to greet the dawn.

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