So this scene must be understood symbolically rather than literally. Note the feet and drapery. Hieratic elements seen in the linear abstraction, gold ground, and frontality. Head of the Empress Theodora. Originally a north African actress, Theodora was considered no better than a prostitute, and yet she was apparently the real brains and power behind the imperial throne.
Mother of pearl is used here as tesserae.
The goal of hieratic decorative pattern overcomes naturalism. While the imperial mosaics in Ravenna certainly reflect the influence of Constantinople, if one compares them with contemporary work in Hagia Sophia or Salonica, it is evident that they are not merely an expression of courtly taste, but an independent local tradition. The two figures are carefully individuated although parts of a rhythmic pattern of repeated forms. Mosaic detail of a lady in Theodora's retinue. A mosaic such as this is often felt to manifest the high point of the Western mosaic art form, representing both the character and the limits of the medium.