Dosis de semilla: Relación trébol/gramínea.

Previous scholarship has analysed the physiognomy of the orantes and has defined the frieze as a gallery of portraits typical of late-antique

159 _{Unfortunately, the collapse of the eastern part of the dome led to the destruction of the}

eastern panel and damaged the north-eastern panel partly and the south-eastern one heavily. In the eastern side of the latter, it caused the loss of the orans figure, whose existence is confirmed by reason of the symmetry with the north-eastern panel where three figures are still visible.

art.160 The heads of the orantes are depicted with vivid features as if they were real faces, showing evidence of the great skill of the artisan.161

A great variety of male figures is evident in the frieze: both young and old, bald and hairy, with short and long beards, or with none at all, and with different colours of eyes and hair.162 Special attention is given on the representation of the eyes, which are big and extremely well defined. However, this attention to detail is an overall characteristic of the mosaic, and is not merely expressed in the rendering of the faces. The physiognomy of the orantes is extremely detailed, with portraits, faces, and precisely defined garments. The combination of physiognomy and garments distinguish the figures with a high degree of individuality.

All of the civilian orantes wear the paenula, a large, long cloak that was worn over a long tunic and covered the arms [fig. 42]. The paenula was the widespread civilian dress from Roman times through Late Antiquity. Originally, it was mostly used in winter or for travelling, but a law of 378 forbade the senators from wearing the toga and insisted instead upon the paenula.163

160 _{DYGGVE 1957,84-85;TORP 1963,28-30;L’ORANGE 1970,265-267;TORP 1991,23-25.}

Spieser has recently noticed that the head types of the figures can be variously compared with examples from the fourth as well as from the sixth century; however this did not affect his previous sixth-century dating of the decoration (SPIESER 2005, 438-439). 161 _{Kleinbauer outlined the naturalism and high individualism of the head type to support}

his view of the orantes as donors (KLEINBAUER 1982, 29).

162 _{For some remarks on late-antique hairstyle, see: CROOM 2000,66-67.}

163 _{RINALDI 1965, 231. Only later the paenula became an attribute of church officials}

(WALTER 1982, 9, 13-14; PATTERSON ŠEV$ENKO 1991a, 1551; BRIZZOLARA 1992, 171;

CROOM 2000,53-54; GOLDMAN 2001,229). For the garments worn by the orantes see:

WIEGAND 1939;KLEINBAUER 1972, 46-47; KLEINBAUER 1982, 32-33 (with bibliography); WALTER 2003,270,274-275.

The soldier orantes wear the chlamys: a large cloak that covers the left arm up to the wrist and is held by a golden fibula at the right shoulder.164 [fig. 43] It has a trapezoidal insert of a different fabric and colour in front of it, called a tablion.165 _{It is worn over a short tunic}

tightened at the waist by a golden belt. The short tunic has rich embroidered inserts (orbicula, clavi, scutlati) on the right shoulder, the wrists, and on the hem.166 The orantes do not wear any particular kind of shoes: the feet are simply covered with dark socks. The colours and details of the garments vary from person to person. The colour range of the

paenula varies from white, to light green, to grey, to purple. All the

chlamyda are different one from another, not only in colours, but also in

their embroidery.

A few considerations about the possible dating of the mosaic can be made on the basis of the soldiers’ dress. In the ivory of Styliko, dated to the fourth century, the chlamys is much tighter and smaller compared to the examples from the Rotunda mosaic, which seems more similar to the

164 _{For the chlamys, see: DELBRUECK 1929, 38-39; CROOM 2000, 51; LABARRE 2003,144;}

WALTER 2003,270.

165 _{PATTERSON ŠEV$ENKO 1991b, 2004; CROOM 2000,51-53.}

166 _{For the function of the tunic as part of the roman and late-antique costume: CROOM}

2000,33-36. In the mosaic of Piazza Armerina, several examples of this kind of tunic can be found. Egypt, where the climate is more suitable to preserve textiles, has given great evidence of late-antique items with this kind of embroideries (DAUTERMANN

MAGUIRE1999, esp. 54-55 cat. no. A12, 107-108 cat. no. B12, 168-169 cat. no. C26;

LORQUIN 2003). This tunic originally came from the barbarian costume and increasingly became common as part of the military dress during the Late Antiquity (SPEIDEL 1997).

The embroideries are distinguished one from another according to their shape (clavi: vertical stripes; orbicula: roundels; tabulae or segmenta: squared embroideries; scutlati: lozenge-shaped embroideries): KALAMARA 1995, 142; DELMAIRE 2003, 95; LORQUIN

large cloak in the fifth-century diptych of a patrician.167 [figs. 44-45] In addition, in the sixth-century imperial panels of San Vitale in Ravenna, the dignitaries’ chlamyda are tight and straight compared to those of the Rotunda mosaics, though they bear some similar features, such as fibulae and tablia.168 [fig. 46]

The fibulae in the ivories recall those of the Rotunda mosaics, but the foot is much shorter and characterized by projecting elements. The

fibulae worn by the dignitaries of San Vitale are very similar to those worn

by the Rotunda figures, although the bow is much less characterized. This may depend on technical details, such as the dimensions of the tesserae or the size of the figures, but the overall impression is that the garments in the Rotunda mosaics are much more detailed than those of the dignitaries of San Vitale.

In both the cases, the fibulae seem to belong to a later stage of the crossbow group called Zwiebelknopffibeln, characterized by a cross-shaped body with ‘onion-shaped’ globes.169 [fig. 47] From the fourth to the sixth century, the crossbow fibulae changed: the foot progressively increased in size and decoration while the crossbar decreased. In the Rotunda mosaic, red tesserae outline golden fibulae. The foot is straight and vertical, formed by a long series of tesserae (6-10 cubes), the bow is quite big, and circles that recall the typical globes are visible at the end of the crossbar

167 _{For the ivory of Stylico, see: COMPOSTELLA 1990, 78; for the Diptych of the Patrician,}

see: BRECKENRIDGE 1979b (with references).

168 _{See also the dress of the chlamidati in the sixth century miniatures of the Rossano}

Gospel.

and bow. In the imperial panels at San Vitale, the bow is much smaller and seems to define a later stage of the fibula. Although it is impossible to date a mosaic on the basis of the representations of fibulae, the details of these pins in the Rotunda seem to point to a fifth-century dating. This is very much in keeping with the date determined by the style of the chlamys.

From the fourth century onwards, this kind of golden cross-shaped

fibula was common among high dignitaries and soldiers as a status

symbol.170 Here, the garments, chlamys, golden fibulae and belt of the soldier orantes convey the image of soldiers dressed in rich official costumes. These orantes, identified as warriors by the inscription, even show their status of soldiers in their dress and jewellery, and are consistent with the contemporary practice of Roman and late-antique society where dress, colour and jewels were means to display one’s social position and wealth.171

The fact that the soldiers’ garments are so different in detail and colour forms the basis for the hypothesis that there is a certain hierarchy among them. Unfortunately, the research in this field is far from complete and it is not yet possible to define the exact hierarchy or the military class based on the colours or the embroideries of the costumes.172

170 _{OLIVER 1979,302-303;SENA CHIESA 1990,43;AUGENTI 1996,129-130;STOUT 2001,}

80-82.

171 _{For the importance of garments in roman and late-antique society, see: KALAMARA}

1995, 70, 139; SEBESTA 2001, 65, 70-71; STOUT 2001; DELMAIRE 2003, 85-87, 98;

LABARRE 2003,150-151.

Like the soldiers wearing official garments, the civilians also seem to be dressed in ceremonial clothes. The paenula, in fact, covers a very long tunic, which was used either by the clergy or by laymen for special ceremonies in Late Antiquity. The length of the tunic was a means of distinguishing men from women: long tunics were considered too feminine for daily wear, but were accepted for official ceremonies.173 Here, bishops and deacons are not the only ones wearing the long tunic under the

paenula; all of the civilian orantes do too, expressing the formalities of an

important occasion.

The garments of both the soldiers and civilian figures show that the

orantes are participating in an important event. Their dress reflects their

status: wealth and luxury are evident in the costumes. The accuracy with which the costumes are depicted, combined with the detail of the physiognomy, displays both the skill of the artisan and the importance of the orantes’ well-defined, specific personalities.