Mosaic from a villa
Roman Britain, 4th century AD
From Hemsworth, Dorset
Venus rising from the sea
It was first noted that there was a Roman villa with numerous
mosaics at Hemsworth in 1831. However, agricultural work continued
on the site, and by the time the area was again uncovered in 1908,
much had been lost.This panel is the flooring of an apse at one end
of a large and imposing reception room. The scene is of Venus, the
Roman goddess of love and beauty, rising from the sea, standing on
a shell. She is surrounded in the outer border by fanciful dolphins
and other marine creatures.
When placed on display at the British Museum before the First
World War (1914-18), the panel was heavily restored using modern
brick, stone and mortar. The curve of the outer edge was slightly
distorted through inaccuracies in the mounting of the radial
sections in which the pavement was lifted: a more accurate view of
the design is now conveyed by the present mounting of the sections.
Careful cleaning has revealed the true colours of the tesserae.