Atlantis Rising
by Wihluta
The Greatest Artworks of the Early Years after the Second Rising of Atlantis
22 May - 35. August 323 A.T.
Atlantis, Lantea
Exhibit 13: Atlantis Rising
Picture taken by Phonare Rem, curtesy of the Museum of Pegasus Arts and Culture, 323 A.T.
Commentary:
The elaborate mosaic was discovered on Belara IV. It consists of pieces no bigger than 2x2 daro (0.8 x 0.8 lan. in) and has an overall size of 86 x 80 darys. The stones are Malac, a rare half-gem of various colours that can be found only on Belara III and IV.
The first account of this marvelous work came to us through the description of the scholar Remin in 161 A.T., who, according to his diary (Haina Universat Rsi400), accidently stumbled over it while studying the ruins of the Bel Monastery on Belara. He believed the artwork was created no later than the year 20 A.T., since the monastery has been unoccupied since the early twenties; Belara having been one of the last planets to be culled by the Wraith. This belief is shared by most scholars.
We do not know who the artist was, nor do we know if it was the work of one or of many. Neither do we know if it was a commissioned artwork or not. This knowledge was lost in the destruction of the monastery and its archive by the Wraith and, subsequently, by years of neglect and decay. The mosaic itself has suffered from the force of the elements. Even though a few pieces have been recovered and carefully reset there is still some damage to the picture (especially in the lower right corner, where there is almost nothing left of the third Hive Ship). Luckily the Malac stone preserves its colour even after hundreds of years, so the beauty of the mosaic is still mostly visible.
The mosaic is generally believed to depict the first great battle between Atlantis and the Wraith after the Great Secession and the Terran Schism in which John Sheppard I. and his Companions destroyed four Wraith Hive Ships. Although there are only three ships visible, there is little doubt that the artwork indeed depicts this first great battle.
The inscription in the upper left corner (although hard to decipher due to missing pieces) reads 'Atlantis Rising'. Since we only know about one occasion before the year 35 A.T. on which the great city of the Ancestors rose from its resting place on the Lantean Ocean, we can be fairly certain that this must be the occasion.
After its discovery by Remin, the artwork had been mostly forgotten for another hundred and sixty years, before it was removed from Belara in 222 A.T. It can now be found in the Museum of Pegasus Arts and Culture in Atlantis.
Sketch of the mosaic by Remin (without the writing), 161 A.T.
Copy of the writing in the upper left corner of the mosaic by Remin, 161 A.T.
Author's notes: This is a small piece of art to go with cesperanza's wonderfully amazing story Written by the Victors. Because I liked the idea that aesc voiced in her notes to her companion-piece Se Narsaugir, that it would be great if we had some sort of Lantean archive to stick our noses into. Maybe, in the end, we will have a whole archive of stuff to go with the story. :-)
The End