Mosaic medallions with busts

Photogallery

Mosaic medallions with busts
Mosaic medallions with busts
Mosaics of Ciriaca

The two mosaic panels, purchased by Benedict XV for the Pius-Christian Museum in 1918, were discovered in the seventeenth century during the translation of relics in the cemetery of Ciriaca: on this occasion, as a result of detachment, they suffered some damage and therefore needed to be restored and integrated. Originally, the boxes presumably adorned the wall of a cubicle (a small burial environment, usually intended for families) and were accompanied by an inscription, now lost but transcribed in ancient times, which commemorated the dedication of the tomb by Flavius Iulius Iulianus to his late wife Simplicia Rustica. The fact that the man was still alive at the time of the production of the mosaics, helps explain why only Simplicia is depicted with hands outstretched in a gesture of prayer, as the deceased are commonly represented in an attitude of prayer and surrender to God.