Destruction ĭue to the fact that many of these works survive into the present, they are available for the modern collector. She established a program which actively loaned items from her private collection to colleges and museums, and she later sold several of the contemporary art pieces for millions of dollars. Mayer died in 1974 and his collection of about 2,000 items was left to his wife. Mayer worked with children in Israel, and this particular mosaic fragment may have come into the Mayers’ possession because they had fallen in love with mosaics from the Middle Eastern region. He and his wife Beatrice “Buddy” Mayer travelled the world, collecting art. Mayer was a founding member of the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art and a member of the purchasing committee for the Art Institute. In 1989, just a few years before the accession of this particular piece, the donations of the Mayer family were discussed in an article in the Los Angeles Times. Gallery 153 is arranged chronologically and so this work “belongs” in this location according to its place in time, and has an interactive iPad beside its display case to entice visitors to stop. The piece is near the back corner of its gallery with like objects. It is still in some ways used in its original intended way, aesthetic representation, but it has lost its function as a structural element. The Mosaic Fragment with Man Leading a Giraffe is a museum piece located in Gallery 153, the Ancient and Byzantine Gallery, at the Art Institute of Chicago. Scenes of animals in mosaics throughout the Levant were common in the Roman period. : 58 Both of these styles resemble the Man Leading a Giraffe mosaic, alluding to a connection in location, influence, or both. : 10 Other pieces within the Roman provinces of the Levant which resemble the Art Institute mosaic are in an African style, such as that in Cilicia, Turkey from the 3rd c. Of course, these floors would have been durable without the presence of mosaic decoration, but the desire to enhance the appearance of spaces was paramount. They were most commonly used to decorate floors due to their durability, and most mosaics discovered today are found in relatively intact condition, including the primary example here. Mosaics are found in the Levant after Roman tradition brought the style along with their control. Most of these date from the 2nd to the 7th century CE, into which the piece at the Art Institute of Chicago fits well from the 5th century. Many of the most famous mosaics are located in northern Africa and Syria, two of the richest provinces of the Roman Empire. Later, during the Hellenistic period (323 BCE-31 BCE), the popularity of mosaics surged and they were found throughout personal villas from Africa to Britain. ![]() Mosaics overall are most commonly found in places of wealth, such as the aforementioned palaces and temples. The earliest known mosaics are from Mesopotamia and date to the 3rd millennium BCE, consisting of pieces of colored stones, shells, and ivory, and further examples of “paved” paths with stone and shells existed throughout Africa. Rather than being created by a single artist, mosaic compositions were often designed by a patron and executed by multiple artisans from a single “workshop.” : 8 Development This region is rich with mosaics, an art form which uses small pieces of glass, stone, or any other hard colored material, referred to as “ tesserae," to create larger images made up of these pieces created with stone in mortar. The Mosaic Fragment with Man Leading a Giraffe at the Art Institute of Chicago originated in either Syria or Lebanon. Mosaics have a long history throughout the Mediterranean and later elsewhere. Mosaics of this type were commonly used to decorate wealthy family villas. ![]() ![]() The piece is Byzantine and originated in northern Syria or Lebanon. The Mosaic Fragment with Man Leading a Giraffe is a mosaic from the 5th century CE, now held in the Art Institute of Chicago. Mosaic Fragment with Man Leading a Giraffe, Byzantine, northern Syria or Lebanonġ70.8 x 167 x 6.35 cm (67 1/4 x 65 3/4 x 2 1/2 in.)
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