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Dr Pat Witts

@wittspat.bsky.social

1.4K followers 46 following 2.2K posts

Specialist in Roman mosaics, with particular interests in iconography and antiquarian illustrations; also hedgehogs in any medium. Author. Membership Secretary asprom.org (posting personally).

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Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 9h

So glad you like it!

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 1d

A good start to Friday: #hedgehog alert! (With thanks as ever to @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social for bringing this to my attention.)

John McCafferty @jdmccafferty.bsky.social · 1d

Hedgehog, c. 1650 (Rijksmuseum)

I love its expression.

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Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 1d

Great expression! Thanks for bringing him/her to my attention. Looks familiar ...

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 1d

Absolutely adorable!

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 1d

The skirts are wonderful! The KHM description in the Alt text (just to prove I've read it 😉) says the heads are all modern, which explains a lot ...

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 1d

Very good point! 😉

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 1d

But you could still see them through the glass, I hope?

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Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 1d

Got there at last in April. Glorious! Bluebells a bonus. 😁

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 1d

I have no expertise, but am thinking hmmm ... ! (Intriguing piece, whatever its story.)

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Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 1d

Rushed to the bookshelves to check my copy and it's the same. Is it rare/valuable?! (No, thought not ...)

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Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 1d

A little light on mosaic books ...

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 1d

Those curls of hair ... 😍

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 1d

Wonder whether that's the one I met there recently who was using the interpretation board as a scratching post! At least not a bull ...

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 2d

Wonderful, thank you. Definitely food for thought as to what this assemblage of symbols might have meant.

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 2d

Thanks for posting this. I'd love to have seen it but was just too early. Looks wonderful!

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 2d

I didn't visit the bridge abutment this time, although have seen it before (ditto the one on the Wall past Birdoswald). Maybe you could post those for enjoyment one Thursday?!

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 2d

No, the bath house phallus was the one that got away! Have a feeling I've seen it on previous trips, so must go through my old photos. If you have one of it which locates it, do share!

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Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 2d

It was. Rather a lot of photos to digest now!

Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 2d

Very! I roamed around with a list of phalli - plus, I hasten to add, many other things. Phallus-finding was light relief ... Most were located successfully, one thwarted me but perhaps is no longer in situ (my source was some years old), and there were some nice surprise appearances. 😀

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Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 2d

From the Headquarters Building at Chesters fort on Hadrian's Wall. Details in Alt Text. 2/2

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Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 2d

I've been travelling and have a feast of phalli to share over the following weeks! We'll start with an old favourite. This one often appears here, but I've added some photos showing its context for those who might not have the chance to visit. 1/2
#PhallusThursday

A paved area of a Roman building runs from the foreground to the rear, with the phallus stone approximately at the centre of the picture. The paved area is set within grass, with a low outer wall. Towards upper right are some modern steps leading down into the Roman building. The remains of the Roman entrance are in front of them.

A close-up view of the phallus symbol. It is in a circular border carved in relief within a roughly square slab. The phallus is pointing to the right and is not placed centrally within the circle.

A paved area of a Roman building runs from the foreground towards the rear, with the phallus stone approximately at the centre of the picture. The paved area is set within grass, with low walls to the rear and around. The walls at the rear are the remains of the inner rooms of the Headquarters Building.

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Reposted by Dr Pat Witts

Art History Animalia @arthistoryanimalia.bsky.social · 4d

#NationalBadgerDay:
#ItalianRenaissance artist Il Sodoma (b. Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, 1477-1549) stuck a self portrait with his pet #badgers into his Stories of St. Benedict fresco cycle! 😂
Scene 3: Benedict Repairs a Broken Colander Through Prayer (Monte Oliveto Maggiore, Tuscany, 1505-8)

full view of the fresco panel with the artist’s self-portrait inserted into scene

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Stories_of_Saint_Benedict_in_Monte_Oliveto_Maggiore_by_Sodoma

Detail of the artist’s self portrait with his two pet badgers at his feet (one in front wearing a red collar)

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Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 3d

Adorable!

Reposted by Dr Pat Witts

Malcolm Stoneman @malcolmstoneman.bsky.social · 4d

“Bear with a banner” medieval tile -
14th Century

In 1382, Jean de Berry employed Spanish craftsmen to decorate his residences with armorial floor tiles at Mehun-sur-Yivre, Bourges & Poitiers. A skill then unknown in France.

#TilesOnTuesday

Caption “Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry” exhibition -
“In the spring of 1382, Jean de Berry obtained permission from the Duke of Girona, his relative, to send three craftsmen from the Valencia region to Spain to work, under the leadership of Jean de Valence, on the construction sites of his fabulous castle of Mehun-sur-Yivre, as well as on those of the palaces of Bourges and Poitiers. The innovative program consisted of decorating the state rooms and apartments with armorial floors made of earthenware tiles produced locally, thanks to the temporary importation of this expertise, then unknown in France”.

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Dr Pat Witts @wittspat.bsky.social · 3d

Always had a soft spot for scribes - heartening to know that they were at the prestigious end of the hierarchy.