Painting (as it were) with minute stone tesserae, this mosaicist really nailed the look of a somewhat guilty dog: a slightly inquisitive hunch, all perked ears and muzzle aquiver, with that plaintive, ascertaining gaze….
This most excellent mosaic was found in a private home in Alexandria – one of the pivotal cultural centers in the expanded Greek world after Alexander’s conquests – and it is easy to see the appeal. Dogs appeared (if passively) in banquet scenes from the Classical period, asleep (or feigning sleep) under couches or gazing hopefully at the odd scrap. This sophisticated Hellenistic version fits within that broad tradition.
This imposing hound seems to be a hunting breed and a well cared for specimen. His placement next to the shiny bronze askos (a vessel for storing and pouring wine) does not seem accidental, and one wonders how the scene read to the villa’s owner: is the curious canine waiting around after a lavish banquet? Or has he been caught preemptively scavenging and inadvertently toppling over that vessel?
