Scenes from Egypt’s Nile River were popular among Romans, who used them to decorate mosaics in their public and private spaces throughout the Mediterranean world. The best known Nile mosaic, in the basilica below the first century BCE Temple of Fortuna at Praeneste in Italy, was the source of inspiration for a number of mosaics, such as this one, which were still being made five centuries later.
Set in the original mortar, waterbirds, fish, and water lilies are arranged into a pattern as if on a carpet, which is typical of fifth and sixth century bce mosaics of this type made in Syria. A rail, or common moorhen, on the left runs towards a fish hiding among the water lilies, as a darter, or snakebird, faces an unidentified fish.
The figures are outlined in black stone tesserae (tiles) and set into a plain background. They are articulated in various shades of pink, orange-brown and white, giving them a three-dimensional effect. It is likely that this floor mosaic formed a border or ornamental framework around a central mosaic emblema (picture panel).
