A mosaic made of more than 2,000 pieces of glass was recently unearthed at the site where an ancient Roman pleasure ship sank off the coast of Turkey. How do you think this mosaic would have looked?
The “third nemi ship” is a mosaic that was made for the pleasure ship of Roman emperor Caligula. Much is made of this mosaic because it has an image of the zodiac, which was not found in any other ancient mosaics.
You’ve definitely heard of art treasures hidden in attics and basements, but not in plain sight on a coffee table in the main room. According to the Guardian, Emperor Caligula commissioned a long-lost Roman mosaic for the floor of his opulent pleasure barge, which sank after he was slain and is now a tabletop in a New York apartment.
The artifact was taken from the flat without the residents’ knowledge. Dario Del Bufalo, an ancient stone specialist, announced the find on CBS’s ’60 Minutes’ last Sunday. He said that a couple identified the Caligula mosaic portrayed in his book as their coffee tables during a book event for “Porphyry” – the reddish rock used by Roman emperors – in 2013.
‘Purchase made in good faith’
Helen Fioratti, an art dealer, and her husband, an Italian journalist, bought the mosaic from “an Italian aristocratic family in the 1960s” and transformed it into a coffee table for their Manhattan home, according to the New York Times. Fioratti said, “It was an innocent buy.”
The mosaic was seized by the Germans during WWII, according to the Manhattan district attorney, and eventually returned to Italy, where it was displayed at the Museum of Roman Ships. And it’s there that the mosaic may now be viewed once again. Del Bufalo, who carried it back to Italy, remarked, “I felt extremely sad for her.” He plans to create a duplicate for Fioratti.
Bringing the stone to life
Given that it was created for the floating brothel where the sex-crazed Caligula romped, Fioratti may want to reconsider Del Bufalo’s offer.
Caligula, according to his contemporary Seneca the Younger, slept with both other men’s wives and his sisters. Fascist ruler Benito Mussolini, not surprise, wanted a piece of the emperor’s action. According to CBS News, he was so taken by Caligula’s debauchery that he turned his palace into a brothel.
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Many have attempted and failed to raise Caligula’s ship throughout the years. In the 15th century, Renaissance architect Leon Battista Alberti notably attempted. Given the ship’s 240-foot length, not to mention all of its orchards and vineyards, it’s no surprise he couldn’t. Also, take note of this. The emperor’s name was emblazoned on the lead pipes that provided flowing water to each chamber, much like a designer label.
A ponderous grave marvel
Divers transported remnants from the ship to the surface instead of reviving it. That’s when archaeologists discovered the mosaic, according to CBS News. “The deck must have been a beautiful sight to see, and it goes beyond the capacity of conception for its strength and beauty,” Rodolfo Lanciani stated in 1898, according to the New York Times.
But hold on a second. Isn’t that a little like discovering a gem in the Fuhrer’s subterranean bunker and praising it because of who possessed it? It’s not as if the mosaic was a work of art gathered just for its aesthetic worth, regardless of who owned it. Caligula’s heinousness drew Fascist ruler Benito Mussolini in. He was so taken by the emperor’s floating brothel that he turned his castle into one, according to CBS News.
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“Nemi ships artifacts” is a mosaic made for Roman emperor’s pleasure ship. It was discovered in the ancient Greek city of Nemi, Italy. Reference: nemi ships artifacts.
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