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How Mosaics Were Made and Made Known

Posted On July 29, 2016 | 15:37 pm | by lainw | Permalink
Classical Art Historian Will Wootton Speaks at Dumbarton Oaks

On July 19, the Dumbarton Oaks Museum invited Dr. Will Wootton, lecturer on Roman art in the classics department of King’s College London, to deliver an informal talk to a group of docents, staff, summer fellows, and interns about mosaics in antiquity. Wootton offered an engaging overview of the medium and its history, approaching from two angles: the aesthetic experience of an ancient observer, as well as the technical procedures employed by the original artisans. He concluded his talk with an in-person examination of the Apolausis Mosaic in the vestibule of the Dumbarton Oaks Museum, pointing out that in the bath house where it was excavated, water would have run over the surface into the sunken room that held it: “The point was showing that the water was so clear and pure that you could see the mosaic perfectly beneath it,” he said.