The Gazelle Mosaic : An Inhabited Scroll in Missouri

Abstract

"Floral scrolls occupied by human and animal elements performing a variety of activities were an extremely popular motif of Roman decorative art. The popularity of these "peopled" or "inhabited" scrolls was such that they became the stock-in-trade of Roman and Early Byzantine mosaic art. On display at the Museum of Art and Archaeology is a circular mosaic fragment representing a gazelle kneeling in the middle of an acanthus scroll, which is a particularly interesting example of this type of decorative device."--First paragraph.