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Birds and beasts in Roman Palestine
Roman Mosaic at the Penn Museum
What's new and exciting in Philadelphia this year isn't exactly new: It's a huge Roman mosaic, probably commissioned by a wealthy entrepreneur almost 2,000 years ago to decorate the floor of a reception hall in his house in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, now Israel.
The Pepper Gallery of the Penn Museum is its final stop of a U. S. tour, and it's a wonder to behold. At first glance this 50-foot-by-27 mosaic looks like a patterned, contemporary fiber rug. Then you realize it's composed of small tesserae of colored stones mortared onto a level surface. It depicts a series of wild animals, birds, sailing vessels and the fish in the sea, surrounded by beautifully patterned border decoration. Only one small area appears damaged, almost obliterating one of the ships.
The mosaic was discovered about three feet below ground in 1996 when Israeli workmen were widening a road in Lod, not far from Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. It was examined, then recovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority until full preparations had been secured for its scientific evacuation and conservation in 2009. A video in the gallery shows this remarkable process in detail.
Sport for gladiators?
The central panel features a large octagonal scene of large, ferocious animals— lions, elephants, giraffes, a rhinoceros, tigers, leopards and a bull— surrounded by smaller squares and triangles of fish, birds and small mammals. One end panel features wild animals, but not in attack positions. The other end panel depicts merchant ships surrounded by fish, some swallowing others.
Experts guess that the owner of this large house might have been a businessman involved in the capture, transport and sale of such animals to Rome for gladiatorial games in which the animals fought each other or human adversaries— the Romans' forerunners of our popular violent sports like boxing and football.
(Incidentally, the Romans were too fond of elephants to allow them to participate in these matches. Elephants were captured in the Middle East, herded onto ships, caged and sailed across the Mediterranean.)
Human footprint
Installed on a nearby wall is a footprint of a barefoot worker, found under the mosaic and preserved for history. Somehow, the indentations of the toes in the earth and the well-formed arch of his foot personalized the entire exhibit for me: It looked just like one of my footprints in the wet sand by the ocean.
Another fascinating fragment on display is the patch of sinopia"“ the painted pattern that indicates to the original workmen creating the mosaic where to place the colored tesserae. You feel as if you're there, almost 2,000 years ago, observing the decoration of a wealthy friend's floor in his reception hall.
Having discovered another mosaic floor nearby, Israel is building a museum in the Lod area for the permanent installation of both mosaics, complete with ramps for viewing them from varying heights plus the floor-level encounter. And, no, you may not walk on them as their original owners did.
The Pepper Gallery of the Penn Museum is its final stop of a U. S. tour, and it's a wonder to behold. At first glance this 50-foot-by-27 mosaic looks like a patterned, contemporary fiber rug. Then you realize it's composed of small tesserae of colored stones mortared onto a level surface. It depicts a series of wild animals, birds, sailing vessels and the fish in the sea, surrounded by beautifully patterned border decoration. Only one small area appears damaged, almost obliterating one of the ships.
The mosaic was discovered about three feet below ground in 1996 when Israeli workmen were widening a road in Lod, not far from Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. It was examined, then recovered by the Israel Antiquities Authority until full preparations had been secured for its scientific evacuation and conservation in 2009. A video in the gallery shows this remarkable process in detail.
Sport for gladiators?
The central panel features a large octagonal scene of large, ferocious animals— lions, elephants, giraffes, a rhinoceros, tigers, leopards and a bull— surrounded by smaller squares and triangles of fish, birds and small mammals. One end panel features wild animals, but not in attack positions. The other end panel depicts merchant ships surrounded by fish, some swallowing others.
Experts guess that the owner of this large house might have been a businessman involved in the capture, transport and sale of such animals to Rome for gladiatorial games in which the animals fought each other or human adversaries— the Romans' forerunners of our popular violent sports like boxing and football.
(Incidentally, the Romans were too fond of elephants to allow them to participate in these matches. Elephants were captured in the Middle East, herded onto ships, caged and sailed across the Mediterranean.)
Human footprint
Installed on a nearby wall is a footprint of a barefoot worker, found under the mosaic and preserved for history. Somehow, the indentations of the toes in the earth and the well-formed arch of his foot personalized the entire exhibit for me: It looked just like one of my footprints in the wet sand by the ocean.
Another fascinating fragment on display is the patch of sinopia"“ the painted pattern that indicates to the original workmen creating the mosaic where to place the colored tesserae. You feel as if you're there, almost 2,000 years ago, observing the decoration of a wealthy friend's floor in his reception hall.
Having discovered another mosaic floor nearby, Israel is building a museum in the Lod area for the permanent installation of both mosaics, complete with ramps for viewing them from varying heights plus the floor-level encounter. And, no, you may not walk on them as their original owners did.
What, When, Where
“Unearthing a Masterpiece: A Roman Mosaic from Lod, Israel.†Through May 19, 2013 at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, Pepper Gallery (third floor), 3260 South St. (215) 898-4000 or www.penn.museum.
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