Focus on this artwork and discuss the Mosaic description.
Some 24 centuries old, the mosaic known as The Beauty of Durrës has a surface area of about nine square metres. It is elliptical in shape, some 5.1 metres (17 ft) across at the widest and some 3 metres (9.8 ft) at the narrowest. The mosaic is made of unworked coloured pebbles and is still in fairly good condition.
The formal expression represents a good example of the art of antiquity, in which Hellenistic art is combined with the local motifs of Illyrian art. It is considered one of the world's most expressive mosaics of its genre. From a stylistical point of view, the mosaic resembles mosaics of the same period discovered in Pella, once part of Ancient Macedonia.
formal Pella mosaic expressive Ancient Macedonia Illyrian art genre Durrës Illyria Mosaic Hellenistic art