The Apse at St. Praxedes: Left side
9th century
Mosaic
Basilica of St. Praxedes, Rome
On the right St. Paul presents Christ with St. Praxedes, who carries her golden crown in offering. As in imperial ceremonies of the time, the hands that carry her gift are covered in a ceremonial cloth. On the left Pope Paschal I brings his offering, a maquette of the present church. This gift too is shielded from the bearer's hands, this time by a fold in his chasuble.
The Pope's halo is square because he was still alive when the mosaic was created. He wears the liturgical garb typical of this period: a long, white pallium over a colored chasuble over a white dalmatic with two vertical stripes. St. Paul wears a similar dalmatic and some sort of mantle. As always, he has a pointy beard and receding hairline. St. Praxedes' broad gold collar and the roundels embroidered on her dalmatic and cape are typical of this era. Her shoes are outlined in red, a color supposedly reserved for the shoes of the Empress.
A phoenix stands on the palm branch above the Pope. Unfortunately, the photograph captured only its legs and a bit of its trunk.
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Photographed at the Basilica of St. Praxedes by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.