Decoration items

Displaying 1 - 5 of 5

Item number	Mosaic floor	Materials, palette	Density	Composition	Geometric patterns	Iconographical motives	Floral motives	Comments	Discussion	Inscriptions
1	Mosaic floor	Missi limstone of the country in		A panel with a basket containing four loaves of bread marked with crosses flanked by two fish and a pair of large diamonds. Around the alter is a geometrical pattern of squares flanked by rhombes filled with lozenge-shaped patterns. The frame is uneven		bread basket, fish, cross		The scene that is featured of a basket of bread and two fishes relates to the miracle of the bread and fish derived from all four Gospels but in most detail it is appears in the Gospel of John. The mosaic is featured where the miracle is considered to have taken place.There are four loaves of bread; two whole and two halved, each wih a cross mark on it. It is a unique represantaion of the scene in that it stands alone, without other symbolic motifs and relates to the location, therfore not wholly symbolic. The church is built on the site of where the miracle was thought to take place (about 350 AD). Originally the mosaic floor was damaged and repaired in 1984 by the Benedictines. The Biblical narrative does not specify the type of fish but in Christian tradition it is assumed to to be a local type from Lake Kinneret called Sarotherodon galilaeus, which often features in the miracle of St. Peter. Our mosaic features a fish with: a split dorsal fin, which is depicted as two separate elements along the back and is unlike the St. Peter fish. It is suggested by that the fish depicted here is not one of the local fish inhabiting the adjoining lake because the lake did not support fish with a split dorsal fin from Late Upper Paleolithic/early Epi-Paleolithic (LGM; 23,000 BP).The artisans who constructed the mosaic floor in the Byzantine period were not familiar with the ecosystem of the lake. They used their catalogue of Nilotic plants and animals, some of which were alien to Lake Kinneret, including the portrayed fish. They were apparently not even well acquainted with the story of the miracle because they placed in the mosaic basket four loaves of bread instead of five. The split dorsal fin of the fish of the mosaic floor suggests two Nilotic candidates for identification: mullets and Nile perches. The inscription below the alter reads:"..Lord remember Saouros". It is framed by a geometrical frame and has about tow letters missing. GOPHEN MOSHE AND LERNAU OMRY. IDENTIFICATION OF THE FISHES IN THE MOSAIC FLOOR OF 2 THE MULTIPLICATION CHURCH, TABGHA, LAKE KINNERET 3 (SEA OF GALILEE), ISRAEL 4.	The geometrical pattern left and right of the later is encounetred in the baths of Jerdeh (late Roman period). Schneider, p.56.	Inscriptions
2	Mosaic floor	Red and yellow (flowers),dark blue, light grey,brown-red,pale red,ochre and light yellow, white. The colors often merge into one another creating a gradient effect that is realistic in nature. The contours are done in white, they are gentle and not used for plants, flowers and blossoms.		The main design consist of Nilotic birds, marsh plants and water fowl in panels of about 5.50 x 6.50 m. At the western end, in each of the intercolumniations dividing the transept from the aisle, there is a peacock pecking at a flower. Above each peacock, three rosettes containing crosses. Along the east wall is a runner plant, it is deep red with lilac leaves and dark blue tendrils. The execution of the plant is flat and shows signs of repair in the northern section. From west to east and north to south: A swan (?) standing on a lotus, a flamingo fighting a snake; two ducks nesting in a lotus flower with another above, sipping from a flower; a purple heron pecking at a lotus flower. In the centre a heron with a merganser (?), sitting in a lotus flower. In the top range is a woodcock cleaning its wings and a dove looking to the right, both on lotus flowers; above them a small stone tower; a duck sitting in a stalk of lotus flowers to the right. Next, a heron on the cone-shapes roof of a small, arcaded "kiosk" with large oleander bushes on either side. On the right-hand side, a lotus plant with a duck sipping from a flower; above it a barnacle goose pecking at a flowering shrub and, above that, in the top right comer, the walls and gates of a city. The frame consists of vivid water lilies alternating between red, yellow and dark-blue merging into white. The corner has a plant similiar to the water lily but in lilac and dark red flowers or buds. Next to it is a tower with three steps and a triangle roof, identified also as a Syrian or Palestinian grave stone (Schneider. 1937, p.58). Next to the tower is a red crested duck sitting on a flower, it has grey leaves and flowers and a yellow stalk with tints of limestone, perhaps an Indian Lotus.		bird, swan, lotus, peacock, heron, dove, flamingo, snake, water lily, grave stone, duck, mountain duck, bulrush, water snake, flamingo killing snake, runner plant, oleander bush, tower	water lily			Inscriptions
3	Mosaic floor	Black. white, grey, dark-red, dark-blue,yellow	100 per dm	A large panel of the same size and style as the north transept. A large area was destroyed and only the north part survived. In the lower, left corner, a white stork faces a lotus flower. Ofthe large, surviving area, lower left, a large bird (perhaps crane?) and a duck sits on a lotus flower who and leans over the edge. To the right of it is a crane sipping at a lotus bud; to the right of this a tower with registers containing numbers, it is indentified as Nilometer, marked with the Greek number from bottom to top: 6 to 10; on it an unidentified (damaged) bird, perhaps a stork (Schneider. p.62). In the top range are two ducks sitting in a lotus bud, a heron attacking a little water snake that is curled up in a lotus flower. The frame consists of a garland winding towards left.	Avi-Yonah A2, Avi-Yonah B9	snake, lotus, duck, bird, crane, stork, nilometer, thistle, fenduck			The tower can be identified as a Nilometer by a similiar depiction on the 6th century silver dish of Perma. Later known Nilometers also support this interpretation, for example, the meter of Rhoda from 716 which has a octangonal column at its center with numbers. (Schneider.1936,p.62)
4	Mosaic floor		North Intercolumniations contain five figurative panels with each with a pair of animals and birds. From west to east:A heron attacking a mongoose,two geese (that on the left a barnacle goose) flanking a bowl of water, two partridges flanking a plant, two grey herons; the male looks back at the female as they both peck at a shrub and two francolins holding a garland in their beaks.			heron, mongoose, geese, partridge, francolin, water snake, crane, stork, nilometer, tower, duck, francolinus vilgaris, garland of flowers, dove, drinking dove, drinking peackock, badger
5	Mosaic floor				Avi-Yonah H1