Lateran triclinium mosaics
Type:
Mosaics,
Palace complexes
Date:
795–815
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Italy
Medium:
Glass
Description:
In the late eighth–early ninth century, Pope Leo III (r. 795–816) transformed the bishop's residence in Rome, the Lateran, into a luxurious palace befitting the increasing status of the popes as patrons of the city's churches, monasteries, and charitable institutions. Their expanded political role as administrators of papal-owned lands outside Rome required new dining halls (triclinia) and reception rooms, richly decorated with glass mosaics. Most of this was lost over time, but in 1743, Pope Benedict XIV commissioned a full-size replica of what remained of the main triclinium's mosaic decoration. This replica still stands today outside the church of St. John in the Lateran. The mosaics are postmedieval, but their iconography faithfully reflects what survived of the original ninth-century decoration in the apse conch and right half of the arch, as preserved in sixteenth-century drawings and a few mosaic fragments.
In the conch was the Mission of the Apostles scene, with Christ sending the apostles to convert the gentiles; the Latin inscription below reads, "Go and teach all nations" (Matt. 28:19). This scene resonated with Carolingian missionizing efforts to convert central and northern Europe to Christianity, efforts supported by the popes. On the right side of the arch, St. Peter gives the pallium (episcopal stole) to Pope Leo III and a military flag to Charlemagne. The heads of both Leo and Charlemagne have a square frame, indicating that they are portrait likenesses.
The original subject on the left side of the arch was unknown, and in 1624 the scene was reimagined as showing the historical origins of the right-hand scene, with Christ presenting a military flag to Constantine and the keys to the Church to St. Peter. The Frankish ruler Charlemagne was being encouraged to think of himself as a new Constantine, an idea reinforced by his coronation as Roman emperor in St. Peter's in 800. The triclinium mosaics thus provided visual support for papal claims to leadership of the Church at the turn of the ninth century.
In the conch was the Mission of the Apostles scene, with Christ sending the apostles to convert the gentiles; the Latin inscription below reads, "Go and teach all nations" (Matt. 28:19). This scene resonated with Carolingian missionizing efforts to convert central and northern Europe to Christianity, efforts supported by the popes. On the right side of the arch, St. Peter gives the pallium (episcopal stole) to Pope Leo III and a military flag to Charlemagne. The heads of both Leo and Charlemagne have a square frame, indicating that they are portrait likenesses.
The original subject on the left side of the arch was unknown, and in 1624 the scene was reimagined as showing the historical origins of the right-hand scene, with Christ presenting a military flag to Constantine and the keys to the Church to St. Peter. The Frankish ruler Charlemagne was being encouraged to think of himself as a new Constantine, an idea reinforced by his coronation as Roman emperor in St. Peter's in 800. The triclinium mosaics thus provided visual support for papal claims to leadership of the Church at the turn of the ninth century.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
5
Image Credits:
Linda Safran; Wikimedia Commons , Martin Knopp
