Marvelous Menagerie: A Roman Mosaic
from Lod,
Israel
At the Legion of
Honor
Exhibition dates:
April 23 to July 24,
2011
Image here.
San Francisco, CA, March 2010–First unearthed accidentally in 1996 during construction on the
Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway in Lod (ancient Lydda), Israel, a large and
extraordinarily detailed floor mosaic was recently lifted from its site and
conserved. Found in a large villa believed to belong to a wealthy Roman,
the exquisitely preserved mosaic floor dates to about AD 300. This
glorious mosaic is in the United States for a limited time before it returns to Israel to
become the focus of the Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Center. The Legion
of Honor is one of only four museums to display this treasure before its final
and permanent installation in Lod.
Exhibition curator Renee Dreyfus says, “Other Roman mosaics have
been found in Israel, but this one is exceptional in its lively imagery and its
excellent state of preservation. We are thrilled to be able to display
such an amazing work of art in our museum and think about what a great city Lod
must have been in Roman times. Each excavated work in the Holy Land
reveals so much about the history and people who lived in this remarkable
land.”
Exhibition
Located in Gallery 1 from April 23 to July 24, 2011, the Roman mosaic
from Lod was designed as two rectangular end panels flanking a large square
medallion. The medallion and one of the end panels contain delightful depictions
of a menagerie of common animals and exotic beasts. The remaining rectangular
panel portrays a fabulous marine scene filled with a profusion of fish,
dolphins, shells and two Roman merchant ships. The absence of human
figures, typical in the work of the time, makes this mosaic particularly
unusual. Measuring approximately 300 square feet, the splendid work of art
commands almost the entire footprint in Gallery 1, but visitors will be able to
walk on three sides for ample viewing.
Gallery 2 serves as a preface to the exhibition with works from the
permanent antiquities collections, including a Roman marble sarcophagus, glass
vessels and two mosaic panels. There are also coins of the era with images
of animals and ships borrowed from the San Francisco Ancient Numismatic Society.
A short film and interactive workstation are also located in Gallery 2 for
additional context and
orientation.
Israel Antiquities
Authority
The presentation of the Lod mosaic is part of an ongoing series that
began over thirty years ago with the exhibition Crossroads of the Ancient World:
Israel's Archaeological Heritage (1982) and continued with The Mystery of the Dead Sea
Scrolls (1994), Ancient Glass from the Holy Land (1997), and
Highlights from the Israel Antiquities Authority: The Dead Sea Scrolls and
5,000 Years of Treasures (2008). The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco
have a collaboration agreement with the Israel Antiquities Authority designed to
enhance international cultural cooperation. The exclusive accord was the
first-ever such agreement between the IAA and another cultural institution.
The formalized relationship was created in the spirit of mutually beneficial
cooperation and will allow the two institutions to work together on a series of
worthy and ambitious projects and exhibitions that would not otherwise be
possible. The collaboration is based on the principle of equal participation
from both institutions in joint activities and reciprocal exchanges.
Programs
There are several programs
and lectures scheduled at the Legion of Honor in conjunction with Marvelous
Menagerie. On April 23 artist and scholar Lillian Sizemore gives
an artist demonstration in Gallery 12 at noon, followed by a lecture in the
Florence Gould Theater at 2:30 pm. Sizemore will demonstrate her mosaic
process, including various techniques highlighting the ancient roots of mosaic
making. Sizemore’s lecture titled Exploring the Lod Mosaic: Past
and Present reveals the methods and designs used to create the Lod mosaic.
She introduces the ancient methods used to transfer the underlying design and
how the pavements were built. Her research shows how the Lod mosaic reveals
more than what meets the eye, and how ancient patterning still informs our
thinking today. Sizemore repeats her artist demonstration at noon on May
14, June 12 and July 9.
The Helen Diller Family Annual Lecture Series focusing on recent
archaeological discoveries in Israel and hosted by the Israel Antiquities
Authority continues with The Lod Mosaic and Its Menagerie: Roman Influence in
Local Mosaic Art, scheduled for April 27, 2011, at 7 pm in the
Florence Gould Theater. Miriam Avissar, a senior archaeologist with the IAA
and the original excavator of the Lod Mosaic, is the guest speaker.
Mosaic artist Vanessa Somers will be at the Legion of Honor on May
22 to lecture and demonstrate her craft. Her illustrated lecture on the
art of creating a mosaic titled Mosaics, a Lost Art—Rediscovered!
begins at 1 pm in the Florence Gould Theater. Somers follows her lecture at
2:30 pm with a demonstration in Gallery 12 focusing on cutting tesserae from
marble with traditional tools and assembling them into a picture.
Finally, on June 25, Metropolitan Museum of Art associate curator
of Greek and Roman art, Christopher Lightfoot, will give the FAMSF Ancient Art
Lecture. The lecture, titled The Roman Mosaic from Lod,
Israel—Insights and Interpretations, is in the Florence Gould Theater
at 2
pm.
Ancient art at the Legion of
Honor
The Fine Arts Museums' collection of ancient art includes antiquities
from the ancient Mediterranean world and the Near East, including Greece, Rome,
Egypt, Assyria, Persia and other Near Eastern sites dating back to 2500 BC.
Objects on display in the Legion of Honor include pottery, sculpture, glass, and
metalwork. Fine examples from the ancient art collection include a Persian
relief from Persepolis, the Winged Genius, and a group of delicately
carved ivories from Nimrud (in present-day northern Iraq). These pieces
offer a unique opportunity to see great treasures from the ancient Near
East.
Legion of Honor visitor
information
The Legion of Honor displays a collection of over 4,000
years of ancient and European art and houses the Achenbach Foundation for
Graphic Arts in a neoclassical style building overlooking Lincoln Park and the
Golden Gate
Bridge.
Address:
Lincoln Park, 34th Avenue and Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121,
415.750.3600
Hours:
Tuesday–Sunday, 9:30
am–5:15 pm; Closed on
Monday; Café open 9:30
am–5 pm; Museum Store
open 9:30 am–5
pm
Admission: $10 adults,
$7 seniors, $6 youths 13–17 and students with a college I.D.;
A surcharge may apply to
some special exhibitions; Members and children under 12 are free; The first Tuesday of every month is free
