The decoration of the Early Christian churches, and particularly of the basilicas, was mostly with mosaics. The largest series of early mosaic decorations in Rome are the panels on the triumphal arch and the nave walls of Santa Maria Maggiore of c. 432-40. The ones on the arch include a version of the Flight into Egypt, and in the nave are Old Testament subjects, mainly from the Books of Exodus and Joshua, and despite extensive restoration and some losses they are the most important Early Christian narrative series extant.
The picture shows a detail of the mosaics on the left side of the triumphal arch. In the upper register, the Adoration of the Magi is shown. Individual pictorial elements such as the Christ Child seated on the throne, as well as the ranks of angels arranged behind, are evidence of appropriations from imperial ceremonies. The register below shows the Massacre of the Innocents. The very bottom register depicts the town of Bethlehem.
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