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Mosaic with the "Lady of Carthage"
North African (Carthage, Tunisia)
Not on view
Archaeologists discovered this mosaic in an elite villa in Carthage. The nimbed (haloed) woman gestures a sign of blessing while grasping a scepter firmly. Her military attire consists of an intricately embroidered coat fastened with an imperial fibula, or clasp. This figure is not a portrait. Rather, she likely embodies the personification of Carthage.
North African mosaics from the fifth and sixth centuries had a muted color palette compared to those from earlier centuries, hinting that some local Roman quarries ceased their operations. This mosaic might have been made after the Vandals, a Germanic tribe, conquered central North Africa in 439.
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