The Basket

The Basket and the New Testament

The presence of a baskets is common in early Christian art in depictions of the parable of the workers in the vineyard (John 15:1-8; Matthew 20:1-16), such as the figural scenes on sarcophagi done in relief (e.g. the Lateran Basilica in Rome, the Via Appia or in Arles). The basket is also prominent in the account of Jesus feeding the multitude at the Lake of Gennesaret (John 6:1-15; Matthew 14:3-21). It is at this biblical lake in Israel (i.e. at the monastery at Tabgha) that we find a mosaic pavement with the best-known depiction of a basket between two fishes. We see this theme reflected in depictions of the Christ and the basket on early Christian sarcophagi (e.g. the Lateran Basilica in Rome, at Saint Felix in Girona) or on wall frescoes of the earliest Christian crypt burials in Rome (e.g. the cubiculo S. Cecilia or SS. Marcellino e Pietro in combination with a pair of birds).

Examples with depictions of birds and baskets in a vineyard are frequent in mosaic pavements in Israel (e.g. St Polyeuctus in Jerusalem, at Beit She’an, at Caesarea), in Jordan (St Stephen’s near Madaba); or of a basket with a pair of birds (the Kursi monastery at the Golan Heights). Notably, the particularly emphasised fruits of the promised land are grapes and pomegranate (Moses 14:23-24). The most lavish depiction of a basket with peacocks is from Antiochia (fragment presently at the Worcester Art Museum, USA).

The Perimeter Band of the Mosaic Pavement

The mosaic pavement in the southern aisle of the Basilica of St Maria Formosa is decorated with a depiction of stylised grapevine leaves and was divided from the basket motif by a broad perimeter band. A long “S” tendril in the multi-coloured band forms two facing series of stylised three-petal floral patterns. This perimeter type is very frequent, primarily on mosaic pavements, in basilicas of the Justinian period from the Middle East through North Africa. The trail of this perimeter motif follows the movement of the Justinian campaign of reconquest under the military led by Belisarius, passing from Tunisia to Sicily and entering victorious into Rome and Ravenna.

We find matching motifs in sacral edifices in Israel (e.g. Qir Yat Gat, Hirbet Madras, Negev – Hura, the Kursi monastery on the Golan Heights), Libya (Sabratha), Tunisia (Carthage), and in Italy (e.g. Fermo, Ravenna - San Michele in Africisco, Trento - San Vigilio, Grado - Sant’Eufemia). There is an identical terminal decoration in Pula on the mosaic pavement of the cathedral’s presbytery (sanctuary) and, of course, this is the manner in which the perimeter bands of the pavement panels in both aisles and in the northern sacristy of the Basilica of St Maria Formosa are decorated.

1. A multi-coloured mosaic pavement (S-16040; 168 by 132.5 cm fragment) depicting a basket and showing the lowest, middle and uppermost hoops. The lower woven section is depicted with vertical, and the upper section with crossed slanting lines. There are nine round fruits near the top of the basket (possibly pomegranates). To both sides of the top of the basket there is a tuft of leaves from which a ribbon descends with a cordiform leaf. The motif is completed with a pair of facing marsh birds. Both have long legs and necks – the bird to the left is better preserved and has a red crown (possibly a crane). To the upper left is a preserved section of the perimeter band of the pavement in the southern aisle. Two facing series of three-petal stylised flowers form an “S” tendril. Tesserae (marble, limestone, brick): several nuances of green and white, grey, black, ochre, red, pink-red. Pula – Basilica of St Maria Formosa – southern intercolumniation – 6th century

2. A capital (S-145; 30.5 by 43 cm) of Proconnesian marble decorated in two zones. In the lower section is a basket sculpted in openwork (a woven network of diagonal triple-stranded bands), with four birds emerging above at the corners. The base (28 cm) consists of two toruses carved as ropes, while the abacus is decorated with a series of stylised tendrils. Pula – Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary – baptistery (?) – 6th century