Off the floor

WAM's Antioch is more than mosaics

by Leon Nigrosh

ANTIOCH: THE LOST ANCIENT CITY
at the Worcester Art Museum, 55 Salisbury Street, through
February 4, 2001.

The subtitle of this ambitious exhibit, "The Greatest Show Un-Earthed," is redolent of P.T. Barnum. And like that master of hucksterism, the Worcester Art Museum has allowed itself flights of fantasy in its media hyperbole. If you go to WAM with the expectation of "walking colonnaded streets, witnessing the power of gladiators, or relaxing in a public bath," you are sure to be disappointed. Furthermore, while it is commendable that WAM may have scored a museological coup by reuniting six disparate segments of an ancient Antiochene floor mosaic that were individually housed in museums around the world, it's a bit of a let-down to have to view the very centerpiece of this exhibition from behind a two-foot high wall. And Antioch was never actually lost -- parts of it were just covered up for a while.

The exhibition does, however, focus on several aspects of daily living in that central Roman city of some 1400 years ago. Welcoming us to the exhibit are four six-inch-tall Tyches, silver and gilt statues that originally graced the corners of some fourth-century patrician's sedan chair. Each of these magnificently articulated cast sculptures represents one of the four major cities of the Ancient Roman Empire: Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, and of course, Antioch. Other Tyches, goddesses of fortune, are displayed throughout the show along with several finely cast bronze images of Aphrodite, Isis, and Athena. All of which attest to the pantheism that dominated Antioch until the flowering of Christianity took hold around the sixth century A.D.

One novel display case contains a group of ancient magic "curse tablets." These small lead sheets were inscribed with vile wishes, rolled up, pierced with a nail and thrown down the local well in an effort to visit ill-fortune on someone.

Ancient Antioch was indeed a city of floor mosaics, which were almost as abundant as rugs are today, only much sturdier. One such work, made up of myriad glass tesserae, limestone, and marble chips, is a late fourth-century mosaic of a funerary symposium. Like others of the period, this wall-mounted floor work is more than merely decorative, it also tells a story. The image is of a specific learned woman, recently deceased, being remembered by her friends and family at a well-appointed banquet.

Other mosaics and fragments of varied execution and importance dot the walls of the exhibit, but perhaps the best-designed, most-complete, and best-cared-for work is not even in the galleries, but installed on the floor in WAM's Renaissance Court at the Salisbury Street entrance. We've all seen this hunt scene so often we tend to forget what a complex and creative masterwork it really is. Be sure to examine it more closely this time. Notice the excellent shading on the hunters' clothing and the animals' skins that ancient craftsmen produced with different colored bits of tile. Each portion of the scene is filled with movement and tension, conveying the immediacy of the dangerous endeavor of pursuing wild animals. And note that -- unlike the other mosaics in the exhibit -- this very large composition can be viewed from many different vantage points.

Among the numerous and finely crafted artifacts that are on display, several are worth closer scrutiny. From the third century, a tiny silver pepper shaker in the shape of a seated boy is actually articulated so that the holes can be adjusted for quick pouring or slow shaking. Equally fascinating, and just as tiny, is a nearby free-blown and tooled glass bottle in the shape of a dromedary carrying caravan trade goods. This sixth-century container, still in excellent condition, was probably meant to hold spices or oils at the dining table. The Funerary Monument of Umm'abi, from around 200 A.D., is an expertly carved relief bust in limestone that depicts a woman adorned in all her bejeweled finery. A portion of a fifth-century marble revetment panel provides another example of intricate stone carving. This decorative architectural element is a drilled out, multi-layered representation of acanthus leaves and stems so finely done that the image comes close to resembling an abstract filigree of continuous motion.

Although the lighting for the entire exhibit is too even and bland, the WAM preparators did help create the appropriate mood by constructing a replica Roman arch between two of the galleries and -- for a nice visual and aural touch -- built an actual pool with a softly gurgling fountain.

Take a step back in time, and visit WAM's ancient city of Antioch. Marvel at the exquisite craftsmanship exhibited by the sculptors, mosaic artists, metalworkers, and glassblowers of that long-ago time, and imagine what everything must have looked like dramatically illuminated by Antiochene oil lamps.

The Worcester Art Museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call (508) 799-4406.