Luna, Roman moon goddess, in a chariot drawn by sea creatures, rides the skies above scenes of life on earth. Sgraffito on Renaissance facade of burgher or town house on Horni náměstí (Upper Square) in Slavonice, South Bohemia, Czechia. The property displaying this sgraffito of Luna, alongside other planetary deities, is Horni náměstí 517. To the right of Luna are two horses which pull the chariot of Sol.
Slavonice, South Bohemia, Czechia: sgraffito on Renaissance facade of a burgher or town house on Horni náměstí (Upper Square) in the historic centre of Slavonice. The house displaying this sgraffito design is Horni náměstí 517, originally a Gothic two-storey house, rebuilt in 1559. On its facade, the house bears fragments of sgraffito decoration which date from 1559 - the date was found in sgraffito above the entrance portal. Luna is one of seven planetary deities riding in chariots across the skies that run in a horizontal band below the first floor windows of Horni náměstí 517. To the right of Luna are the two horses which pull the chariot of Sol. Behind Luna and to the left is part of the helmet of Mars. Luna, Roman moon goddess, holds a crescent moon in her left hand and has a veil on her head that flutters in the wind. Her chariot is pulled by sea creatures, their heads resembling dragons and their elongated bodies ending in tail fins; this, apparently, was how people at that time imagined dolphins. Below Luna, a scene from life on earth is an area of water with a laundress on a bank, a fisherman in a boat and a water mill. Slavonice, a small town lying close to the Austrian border, in the historical region of Moravia, was founded in the 1100s CE and expanded in the 1300s. It owes its current appearance to the building and rebuilding of many houses in the 1500s, when the town was established as a post stage between Prague and Vienna. The above information on sgraffito decoration of Horni náměstí 517 draws on research by Michaela Musilová, compiled for a History of Art Bachelor Thesis at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice in 2014.
Size: 4234px × 2812px
Location: Slavonice, South Bohemia, Czechia / Czech Republic
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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