In that rollicking era of Indiana Jones archeology in the 1930s, the Worcester Art Museum partnered with Princeton, Harvard, and the Louvre to dig up the ancient Roman trading city of Antioch in what is now Turkey. The museum scored big in 1936, shipping home a sixth-century mosaic weighing some 12,500 pounds, unearthed from the floor of a Roman villa that was destroyed in a 526 earthquake. The institution calls it "the largest floor mosaic brought to America."The 20-foot-square limestone-and-marble design depicts men in tunics fighting lions, bears, boars, deer, and leopards in a free-for-all — a pastime of the ancient one percent. It's all action and blood between stately fruit trees. A lioness pounces on a fallen swordsman only to be speared by a caped horseman. A desperate tiger and her two cubs chase a grinning rider waving a third striped cub in his hand. A lion crumples from a hunter's arrow.
On view in the museum's Renaissance Court for seven decades, the Worcester Hunt Mosaic remains one of the most complete and dramatic examples of its kind in the Americas — a testament to the moxie that used to define the museum and the city. It should be a landmark. But around Boston it's almost like secret knowledge. Spread the word.
WORCESTER HUNT MOSAIC :: WORCESTER ART MUSEUM, 55 SALISBURY ST, WORCESTER :: 508.799.4406 OR WORCESTERART.ORG
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Photos: The Secrets of Tomb 10A at MFA, 'New' dance — then and now — gets a full airing on Boston's stages, and on film, A whirlwind year of dance, More 
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Photos of an Ancient Egyptian exhibit on display at the Museum of Fine Arts
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Here's a look at highlights from my year of dance viewing.
- Trying to find now
William Gibson — the writer who famously coined the term "cyberpunk" and whose classic tech-punk novels like Neuromancer and The Difference Engine helped spawn a couple generations' worth of bleak, busted fantasies — is now on tour promoting his first collection of nonfiction.
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The spring opens with strong programs from local dancemakers.
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Fortunately, Elvis Costello's dictum that writing about music is like dancing about architecture doesn't apply to playwrights taking on the world of art, which has been the subtext for three provocative Boston-area plays recently.
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On Sunday, Viggo Mortensen dropped in at the marathon screening of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and regaled the gathered faithful with a song in Elvish.
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Rafaela Carrasco’s flamenco dance show Vamos al tiroteo at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, March 2-3, 2012.
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All three dances presented by Ballet Hispanico at the Cutler Majestic last weekend depended heavily on costume effects to convey their messages.
- Next to Normal is good therapy
Well, why not.
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Ten years ago, I bought a copy of Ben Marcus's first novel, Notable American Women, on the recommendation of a young literary editor.
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Topics:
Museum And Gallery
, Archaeology, arts features
