Domestic and Divine: Roman Mosaics in the House of Dionysos

by Christine Kondoleon

Overview

Built on the southwestern coast of Cyprus in the second century A.D., the House of Dionysos is full of clues to a distant life—in the corner of a portico, shards of pottery, a clutch of Roman coins found on a skeleton under a fallen wall—yet none is so evocative as the intricate mosaic floors that lead the eye from room to room, inscribing in their colored images the traditions, aspirations, and relations of another world. In this lavishly illustrated volume, Christine Kondoleon conducts us through the House of Dionysos, showing us what its interior decoration discloses about its inhabitants and their time.

Seen from within the context of the house, the mosaics become eloquent witnesses to an elusive dialogue between inhabitants and guests, and to the intermingling of public and private. Kondoleon draws on the insights of art history and archaeology to show what the mosaics in the House of Dionysos can tell us about these complex relations. She explores the issues of period and regional styles, workshop traditions, the conditions of patronage, and the forces behind iconographic change. Her work marks a major advance, not just in the study of Roman mosaics, but in our knowledge of Roman society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801430589
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	04/06/1995
Series:	Harvard East Asian Monographs; 165
Pages:	392
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.12(d)
Lexile:	1450L (what's this?)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Christine Kondoleon is Associate Professor and Department Chair of Art History at Williams College.

What People are Saying About This

Elaine K. Gazda

Christine Kondoleon presents the extraordinary mosaics of the House of Dionysos on Cyprus in a multifaceted study that explores their technique, style, iconography, architectural setting, chronology, and social import. This richly textured exploration provides a compelling reconstruction of the social and political aspirations of Romanized aristocratic patrons of the first and second centuries. It will be a landmark for the contextual study of Roman art.

Editorial Reviews

"Christine Kondoleon presents the extraordinary mosaics of the House of Dionysos on Cyprus in a multifaceted study that explores their technique, style, iconography, architectural setting, chronology, and social import. This richly textured exploration provides a compelling reconstruction of the social and political aspirations of Romanized aristocratic patrons of the first and second centuries. It will be a landmark for the contextual study of Roman art."

Elaine K. Gazda