{"product_id":"the-map-of-the-holy-land-mosaic","title":"Map of the Holy Land Mosaic","description":"\u003ch2\u003eThe Map That Outlasted Every Empire That Tried to Erase It\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 560 AD, Byzantine artisans in Madaba laid the world's oldest surviving map of the Holy Land into a church floor — in stone, so it could not be lost. This piece is a hand-crafted reproduction of that map, made in the same city, by the direct heirs of that tradition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Design\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis circular mosaic reproduces the essential composition of the \u003cstrong\u003eMadaba Map\u003c\/strong\u003e — the 6th-century Byzantine cartographic masterpiece that still lies beneath the floor of St. George's Church in Madaba today. The map is oriented with east at the top, as was the Byzantine convention, and depicts the \u003cstrong\u003eHoly Land from the Jordan River to the Nile Delta\u003c\/strong\u003e. Rendered across the cream-white field are the layered bands of the \u003cstrong\u003eJordan River\u003c\/strong\u003e winding in earth tones of brown, gold, and blue-grey toward the \u003cstrong\u003eDead Sea\u003c\/strong\u003e, where a golden Byzantine boat sits on the water — one of the most iconic details of the original. Cities, towns, and landmarks are labeled in \u003cstrong\u003eGreek inscriptions\u003c\/strong\u003e, scattered across the surface exactly as they appear in the 6th-century original. Recognizable features include palm groves, fortified walls, and the dense urban block of \u003cstrong\u003eJerusalem\u003c\/strong\u003e rendered at the center-lower field in characteristic detail.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe color palette is faithful to the ancient source: \u003cstrong\u003ewarm ochres and ambers\u003c\/strong\u003e for the land, \u003cstrong\u003elayered earth tones\u003c\/strong\u003e for the topography, \u003cstrong\u003eteal and green\u003c\/strong\u003e for vegetation, and deep black for the background of the lower register where the inscriptions run heaviest. A \u003cstrong\u003eboat with a curved golden prow\u003c\/strong\u003e crosses the Dead Sea — in the original, the artist noted that fish swimming downriver turned back rather than enter its waters. These are not decorative flourishes; they are observations, recorded in stone by someone who had either seen this land or spoken to those who had.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe border is a \u003cstrong\u003emulti-strand braided interlace\u003c\/strong\u003e in green, red, dark brown, and cream — one of the most elaborate border treatments in the Madaba mosaic repertoire, befitting a piece of this cultural magnitude. It frames the map the way a sacred text is framed: with solemnity and craft.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3 class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003e✦\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e20\" H x 20\" W x 1\" D (50 x 50 x 2.5 cm)\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e✦\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003eWeight:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e2.76 lb\u003cbr\u003e✦\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003eShape:\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"ng-star-inserted\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eCircular\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat You're Getting\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e✦ \u003cstrong\u003e100% handmade\u003c\/strong\u003e — assembled stone by stone by Madaba artisans\u003cbr\u003e✦ \u003cstrong\u003eNatural stone tesserae\u003c\/strong\u003e — no plastic, resin, or machine-cut pieces\u003cbr\u003e✦ \u003cstrong\u003eOne of a kind\u003c\/strong\u003e — slight natural variations in stone color are part of its authenticity\u003cbr\u003e✦ \u003cstrong\u003eReady to hang\u003c\/strong\u003e — wall-hanging hardware included\u003cbr\u003e✦ Carefully packed for safe international shipping\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe Tradition Behind It\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe original Madaba Map was made in the city where this piece was made — and the craft that produced both has never left. Madaba's mosaicists have been the custodians of this image for fifteen centuries, reproducing and reinterpreting it long before it became famous to the outside world. To own this piece is to own a fragment of that custodianship: the city's longest-running act of cultural memory, carried forward in stone.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eEach mosaic is unique. Dimensions and stone coloring may vary slightly from the photo shown.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gallerie Levant","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48228688101533,"sku":null,"price":949.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0669\/2513\/3981\/files\/map-main.jpg?v=1778561335","url":"https:\/\/gallerielevant.com\/products\/the-map-of-the-holy-land-mosaic","provider":"Gallerie Levant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}