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Conservation of "Three Erotes Fishing" Floor Mosaic

Posted On July 03, 2012 | 11:27 am | by lisaw | Permalink

Francisco López

Baltimore-based conservator Diane Fullick recently cleaned the "Three Erotes Fishing" floor mosaic in the Byzantine Courtyard of the Dumbarton Oaks Museum.

“Three Erotes Fishing” is one of a group of Roman mosaics excavated by the Antioch Expedition at Daphne-Harbie. As members of the Committee for the Excavation of Antioch and its Vicinity, Robert and Mildred Bliss acquired several finds from the fieldwork in the late 1930s. As a floor mosaic, "Three Erotes Fishing" requires conservation work more often than its wall-born brethren. Diane Fullick’s conservation process involved the use of a steam cleaner and sponges to remove the old protective coating, the mechanical removal of tenacious residue from between tesserae using dental picks and scalpel and, finally, the application by brush of a new protective coating.

The “Three Erotes Fishing” floor mosaic and other highlights from the Dumbarton Oaks Collections can be explored on our website through the online catalog.