Predators & Prey: A Roman Mosaic from Lod, Israel Opening Reception at The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum FIU

Photography by Ryan Troy on February 11th, 2016 in Lifestyle

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Miami, FL – February 10, 2016 – Miamians had a chance to meet a true “Roman Rock Star” up close in the magnificent Lod Mosaic, a 3rd-century CE Roman Mosaic from the Eastern Roman Empire in modern-day Israel. The mosaic continued its transcontinental tour at the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum FIU, the Smithsonian affiliate in Miami. Presented in association with the Israel Antiquities Authority, the mosaic has attracted crowds at the Louvre in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum in New York and the Hermitage Museum in Russia. The Miami presentation of the Lod Roman Mosaic from Israel was generously underwritten by Patricia and Phillip Frost. The event attracted dignitaries, community leaders and cultural luminaries including:Patricia and Phillip Frost, Revital Malca (Deputy Chief of Mission, Consulate General of Israel), Mark Rosenberg (FIU’s President), Jose Valdes-Fauli (Board Chair of the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum FIU), Dr. Jordana Pomeroy (Director of the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum FIU), Elizabeth Broun (Director of the Smithsonian America Art Museum), Shelby White (Shelby White and Leon Levy Lod Mosaic Center), Jacob Fisch (Executive Director of the Israel Antiquities Authority), Lillian M. Peters (BNY Mellon), Jorge Zamanillo (Museum Director, HistoryMiami), Dr. and Mrs. Harvey Peretz, Max Blumberg, Victoria Cummock, Jerry Cohen, and Adam Emmerich.

Especially during today’s troubled times with heritage sites in danger in war-torn areas, the Lod Mosaic provides a spectacular example of rescue archaeology and conservation. The Israel Antiquities Authority saved the Lod Mosaic after it was discovered by a construction crew during a 1996 excavation to widen a roadway. The Lod Mosaic dates back to the 3rd century CE when the town of Lod was a part of the Roman Empire. The exquisitely detailed mosaic is believed to be the floor of a large audience room, in a grand villa owned by a wealthy Roman merchant whose trade route crossed between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean. The exhibition’s title, “Predators and Prey,” references the marvelous menagerie of exotic animals portrayed. The mosaic is of no religious affiliation, residents at the time were mostly Pagans, Christians and Jews.

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