On 9 October 2015 the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, in collaboration with the Israel Antiquities Authority and the Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Center, will unveil A Menagerie of Wonders. The Ancient Roman Lod Mosaic at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini at the exhibition centre on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore. The only Italian stage of a travelling exhibition that has taken the mosaic to some major world museums has been made possible thanks to the support of Patricia and Phillip Frost. The mosaic will be on view until 10 January 2016.
A Menagerie of Wonders is an exhibition that provides a unique opportunity for the Italian public to admire an ancient Rome mosaic of superb iconographic quality and in an excellent state of conservation. The mosaic was uncovered in 1996 in the Israeli town of Lod, which according to an ancient legend was the birthplace of Saint George. Dating from the 3rd century AD, the mosaic is also particularly interesting because it is so well preserved. One of the finest and largest mosaic floors ever found in Israel, this archaeological gem consists of panels with detailed images of mammals, birds, fish, various plants and ancient ships. The mosaic is made of cubic stone tesserae of various colours: blue, red, yellow, brown, white, several shades of grey, and black.
Immediately after the discovery, the mosaic was reburied to protected it from the elements which threatened its state of conservation. It was then uncovered again in 2009 and displayed to the public, but only for one weekend; over 30,000 visitors seized the opportunity to admire the mosaic. Funded by the Leon Levy Foundation and Shelby White, president of the Friends of the Israel Antiquities Authority, work began the same year to create a permanent home for the mosaic – the Lod Mosaic Archaeological Center – due to open in 2017.
In 2010 the Lod mosaic set off on an international tour and was displayed in some major world museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Louvre, Paris, the Altes Museum, Berlin, Waddesdon Manor in the heart of Buckinghamshire (United Kingdom), and the Hermitage, St Petersburg. Before the mosaic’s definitive return to Israel, from 9 October 2015 to 10 January 2016 the Lod mosaic will be on show at the Fondazione Cini in Venice. This unique, not-to-be-missed exhibition is the only Italian stage on the tour, which will end in the United States at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum in the Florida International University, Miami (from 11 February to 15 March 2016).
On the occasion of the exhibition, the Fondazione Cini Institute of Art History has broadened reflections on the theme by conceiving and producing a photographic exhibition and two videos with the expert advice of Elisabetta Concina. Selected from the Fondazione Cini’s vast Photo Library, the images refer to floor mosaics in some of the most important archaeological sites in Italy: Aquileia, Rome, Palestrina and Pompeii. The first video, on the other hand, produced in collaboration with the Archaeological Departments of the Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia and Emilia Romagna is a fascinating journey in images documenting the extraordinary wealth of the Italian archaeological heritage, with a specific focus on the northern Adriatic area; this is also meant to suggest a travel itinerary to encourage visitors to explore further the themes of the exhibition. The second video furnishes a wider-ranging survey, extending the area of comparison with the Lod mosaic to the Mediterranean basin in an attempt to identify stylistic models, thematic affinities and iconographic similarities but also compositional differences and technical divergences.
