A mosaic stolen from Italy during World War II has been returned to Pompeii. It was gifted to a deceased German citizen by a Wehrmacht captain in 1944. The mosaic dates from the 1st century B.C. to the 1st century A.D. and depicts a semi-nude woman reaching out to a semi-nude man. It exemplifies a shift from heroic to domestic themes in art. Made in the opus vermiculatum technique, the mosaic features small tesserae arranged in undulating lines and was likely used in Roman bedrooms. Similar mosaics exist in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
The mosaic dated from between the middle of the 1st century B.C. and the 1st century A.D. depicts a semi-nude woman with her back to the viewer reaching out to a semi-nude man reclining on a couch.
Executed in the opus vermiculatum technique, this mosaic is important for illustrating the transition from heroic figural iconography to domestic love as an artistic motif.
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