Ducks, Dolphins, and Portrait Medallions: Framing the Achilles Mosaic at Pedrosa de la Vega (Palencia)

The frame is often perceived as parergonal or secondary compared with the image it enframes. However, in the large fourth century Achilles on Skyros mosaic at Pedrosa de la Vega, in Northern Spain, the border framing the emblema has a unique design: portrait medallions are suspended from the spread wings of antithetical duck-dolphins, which flank a golden amphora, hanging from a ribbon held in their beaks. The article discusses the meaning of the frame with particular attention to the portrait medallions and traces the decorative scheme back to early imperial Rome.