Mosaic with Lion
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.The Hammam Lif Synagogue
A large mosaic found at the Tunisian town of Hammam Lif is so closely aligned with regional conventions that its structure was first identified as a Byzantine church. The presence of a Latin dedicatory inscription identifying the site as "Sancta Sinagoga" (Holy Synagogue), flanked by two Menorahs, revealed that it was a synagogue. The floor consisted of four mosaic carpets, integrating distinctly Jewish symbolism with popular motifs of the period, including a lion.
The lion from the southeastern portion of the floor resembles those found in Jewish art as well as in Christian mosaics and domestic settings of the period. It demonstrates how images took on various meanings in different religious and cultural contexts in the Byzantine world.
A large mosaic found at the Tunisian town of Hammam Lif is so closely aligned with regional conventions that its structure was first identified as a Byzantine church. The presence of a Latin dedicatory inscription identifying the site as "Sancta Sinagoga" (Holy Synagogue), flanked by two Menorahs, revealed that it was a synagogue. The floor consisted of four mosaic carpets, integrating distinctly Jewish symbolism with popular motifs of the period, including a lion.
The lion from the southeastern portion of the floor resembles those found in Jewish art as well as in Christian mosaics and domestic settings of the period. It demonstrates how images took on various meanings in different religious and cultural contexts in the Byzantine world.
Artwork Details
- Title: Mosaic with Lion
- Date: 6th century
- Geography: Made in Tunisia, excavated Hammam Lif Synagogue
- Culture: North African (Hammam Lif, Tunisia)
- Medium: Stone tesserae
- Dimensions: 29 5/16 × 42 1/4 × 1 5/8 in., 172 lb. (74.5 × 107.3 × 4.1 cm, 78 kg)
- Classification: Mosaics
- Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum, New York, Museum Collection Fund (05.18)
- Rights and Reproduction: Photo by Brooklyn Museum
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters