A Contextual Study of the Ancient Roman Nile Mosaic in Modern Day Palestrina
FAIN: FT-59958-12
Maria (Molly) Ruth Swetnam-Burland
College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, VA 23186-0002)
I am applying for an NEH summer stipend in support of a project reconsidering the well-known "Nile Mosaic" associated with the Roman city of Praeneste, modern-day Palestrina. I intend to set forth a series of arguments reconsidering the role of the architectural setting in directing the viewer's experience of the mosaic, and will offer a re-reading of its iconography in light of a pendant mosaic, commonly called the "Fish Mosaic." I also plan to create or commission an original digital model of the mosaics in situ, recreating the multi-sensory experience of viewing the mosaics in their grotto settings. Considering the two in tandem opens up a range of interpretative possibilities, and also supports a later date for the pair.