Floor Mosaic at Aquileia's Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta: Detail, doves and roses

Late 4th century
Aquileia, Italy

The flowers appear to be roses that have recently opened from buds. They are identical to the rose carried by the woman at right, who is bringing gifts to the Winged Victory in a nearby panel of the mosaic. That panel represents every baptized person's victory over sin and death, but even at this early stage in Christian iconography we may take the red roses to refer to the martyrs and their victory.

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Photographed at the basilica by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.