Mosaic, known as “The Bacchus Mosaic”
Atelier rhodanien Langres, « Place du Centenaire », IIe siècle de notre ère Calcaire
This mosaic was discovered in 1985–1986 during excavation work carried out to extend the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire. It covered an area of around 58 m2, and used to ornament the dining room – or triclinium – floor of a sumptuous dwelling in the early 2nd century CE. This mosaic was made in a Rhone valley workshop, using tesserae cut from stones of different colours and origins.
The motifs of craters, oenochoes and cups are references to the figure of Bacchus as a young man in the most detailed part of the mosaic. We know that this is Bacchus because of his attributes, the thyrsus and panther. The fruit motifs, notably apples and pears, that complete the iconography of the mosaic echo the function of the dining room.