2025
The ancient mosaics of Ravenna – The collection of the copies

DRINKING DOVES

In the east and west lunette of the central tower, at the feet of the two
Apostles, rests a pair of graceful doves, perched on a basin filled with
water. One drinks, barely rippling the water caressed by the light and
casts its shadow, while the other looks away. They stand out against a
deep indigo background. It is an image of serenity, where sinuous dark
tesserae and their volumes define the contours through a skilful play of
glazes in varying tones, with the whites marking the points of greatest
brightness.
This iconography has ancient roots, also mentioned by Pliny the Elder
in his description of a mosaic realised by Sosos, a mosaic artist active
in Pergamon in the 2nd century BC. In the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia
the doves are to be interpreted symbolically. They embody the Christian
soul at the moment of its passage into the Afterlife, finding solace in
water – the source of life and celestial peace.

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