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Worcester's Community Mosaic

Conserving the Antioch Mosaics

The Worcester Art Museum has one of the best collections of mosaics in the Western Hemisphere. They span six centuries of artistic production, and the transitions between Hellenistic and Byzantine art are evident.

All of Worcester's mosaics once paved the floors of dining rooms, reception areas, cemeteries, baths, and porticoes. Many of them weigh more than 1000 pounds and were brought to the Museum in several shipments (1933, 1936, and 1939) and installed in and around the Museum's Renaissance Court. The Museum's enormous Hunt mosaic covers about 500 square feet and was part of a Roman house that had been destroyed in the 526 earthquake. Brought to America in five sections that each weighed more than a ton, the mosaic was reassembled on the floor of the Renaissance Court.

One of the lasting benefits of this exhibition is the conservation of several of Worcester's mosaics as well as works on loan from Princeton and Baltimore. The Worcester Art Museum has been conserving its own treasures since 1995. During this time, the public has been able to view the treatments in progress.

When you visit the exhibition, you'll be able to see illustrations of how residents of Antioch created Roman mosaics and the "before and after" views of recent conservation.

Last Updated: December 14, 2000