Image Details

Ducks on Lotus Blossum: A pair of billing ducks restfully rock themselves on the giant blossom of a swaying lotus plant. The lotus is an Egyptian plant; it is unlikely that it grew as far north as the Galilee in the fourth or fifth century. The Tabgha artist probably saw the lotus in Hellenistic and Roman landscapes in other mosaics. In any case, it is his only transplant. All the other flora are native to the Galilee, and the birds all spend at least part of the year near the lake. The depictions of the flora and fauna are all so naturalistic that we can easily identify each species.