Hunt Scene from El-Jem
3rd century AD

The mosaics of Roman North Africa have an incredible variety of compositional styles. Many are arranged in complex geometric patterns, and many in elaborate designs of trailing vegetation. This hunt scene has no rigid structure but the disposition of the figures, animals and trees is stylised into a series of registers or rows that gives the piece a strong narrative sense. The plain cream background holds the scene in suspended animation and flattens it enough to sit comfortably on a floor.