Seated Figure with Torch

This opus sectile panel (early 4th c.) from the Basilica of Junius Bassus—a prominent Roman magistrate who served as prefect of the city—shows a crowned figure seated on a patterned throne and holding a tall torch. Bright marble and mother-of-pearl inlays form strong blocks of red, yellow, blue, and green. Such panels marked elite spaces, where vivid color and personified figures expressed prestige and civic authority.