Roman Gaul

This bronze statuette of Mercury shows him in his most classical appearance: a nude young man with a chlamys (travellers cloak) on his shoulder, the winged petasus on his head, small wings on his heels, and holding the caduceus. The animals that normally accompany him, cockerel, ram and tortoise, are missing.The Roman god Mercury was particularly popular in Roman Gaul, especially in the centre, north and east of the country. He protected traders, traveller and foreigners, and unusually, artisans too, although this was peculiar to Gaul.The powers of the Gallo-Roman Mercury, therefore, were more extensive, and perhaps reflect the partial assimilation of the Greco-Roman divinity into one or several Celtic deities. The statuette, like others in terracotta and silver, probably belonged to a small domestic chapel, where religious rites were carried out, even though Mercury was also worshipped in major sanctuaries, sometimes located on hilltops like the Puy de Dôme.

The mosaic, over a third of which is missing, decorated the floor of a large suburban villa in Saint-Romain-en-Gal, one of the areas of Vienne in ancient times. It was one of the most beautiful and most prosperous towns in Gaul. Mosaic workshops were set up in Vienne to satisfy the demands of a wealthy clientele.Agricultural and rural activities, and the festivals of the four seasons are depicted in 40 panels surrounded by a rich braided border. 27 of these survive, each measuring 59 cm. This theme was not generally used by mosaicists, and particularly not by the workshops of Vienne, which preferred to depict mythological scenes or still lifes. They were inspired no doubt by one or several of the Roman examples found throughout the Mediterranean region, but this mosaic could also well be regarded as a “reportage” on Gallo-Roman agricultural practices.The images are set around four central panels depicting personifications of the seasons: Winter is a woman wrapped in a cape on a wild boar, Spring is a nude Cupid on a bull, Summer is a nude Cupid on a lion, and Autumn is a nude Cupid on a tiger.