Jump to content

Fordington mosaic: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
creating page
Tag: nowiki added
(No difference)

Revision as of 17:08, 4 August 2024

Fordington Roman mosaic
The Fordington Roman Mosaic in 2023
ArtistDorchester School of Mosaicists
Year2nd century AD
TypeMosaic
Dimensions715 cm × 480 cm (23.5 ft 2 in × 15.6 ft 189 in)
LocationDorset County Museum, Dorchester

The Fordington mosaic, also known as the Fordington High Street mosaic, is a Roman floor mosaic from the 2nd century AD, found in Fordington,cr Dorchester in England, in what was once Durnovaria;[1][2] it is now on display at the Dorset Museum. It depicts Neptune and the ocean.[3]

History

The Fordigton mosaic being excavated in October 1927
Mosaicists Giomeria Zanetter (left) and Sidney Smith (right) with the Dorset Museum curator Captain John Edward Acland (middle), celebrating the final completion of the laying of the mosaic on 5 December 1927

Roman history

The Fordington mosaic was created by the Dorchester School of Mosaicists during the 2nd century AD, it is believed that they created this mosaic due to their specific style of theming mosaics around sea gods and marine life.[4] It was created for a town house on the outskirts of Durnovaria and was a pavement mosaic.[5]

Modern history

The Fordington mosaic was discovered in 1903 on the site of Lott & Walne's Fordington foundry, and it was excavated in October 1927 with the help of poet Thomas Hardy,[6] who as a result of excavating the mosaic became ill and died shortly after.

The mosaic was subsequently donated to the museum in November 1927 by Proprietors J. J. Walne and O.C. Vidler and was installed into the floor of the Dorset Museum by Giomeria Zanetter and Sidney Smith (the completion date of the mosaic installation was 5 December 1927).[7][6]

The mosaic stayed in the floor of the museum it was dismantled and moved onto one of the walls of the museum shortly before the museum reopened in May 2021; the conservation work was undertaken by Lee Kimber, Richard Ball and Brian Bentley.[8]

Description

The mosaic is incomplete, with parts of the lower section of the mosaic no longer existing today,[5] and its design consists of a head of Neptune, two dolphins and red-finned fish,[3] and it has been described as being identical to pavement mosaics of a similar date found at Bignor and Cirencester.[8]

It also measures 715 cm × 480 cm (23.5 ft 2 in × 15.6 ft 189 in).

References

  1. ^ Cosh, Stephen R. (2008). Mosaics from Buildings 13 and 6 (PDF) (978-1-874350-46-0 ed.). Wessex Arch. p. 4.
  2. ^ Cosh, S. R. and Neal, D. S., (2006), Roman Mosaics of Britain: Volume II: South-west Britain, London, Society of Antiquaries
  3. ^ a b "Fordington mosaic". www.wessexmuseums.org.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Roman mosaics in Dorchester". www.thejoyofshards.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b 'Plate 225: Roman Mosaics in Dorchester and Weymouth', in An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in Dorset, Volume 2, South east( London, 1970), British History Online https://www.british-history.ac.uk/rchme/dorset/vol2/plate-225 [accessed 4 August 2024].
  6. ^ a b "How do you move a 2000-year-old mosaic without breaking it?". www.hardysociety.org. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Conservators re-install Mosaic in Museum". www.dorsetmuseum.org. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Reinstallation of the Fordington Mosaic at Dorset Museum". www.clivedenconservation.com. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy