Search

2,000-year-old mosaic rediscovered as artsy coffee table

A 2,000-year-old Italian mosaic that disappeared during World War II has emerged almost 7,000 kilometres away, under a cup of coffee. The mosaic, originally commissioned by Emperor Caligula, was found by Italian ancient stone expert Dario Del Bufalo, who retold the story on CBS’s 60 Minutes. Mr Del Bufalo had been giving a lecture about the common rock Roman emperors used and handing out signed copies of his book Porphyry when he overheard a man and woman talking about a picture of the long-lost mosaic in the book. “There was a lady with a young guy with a strange hat that came to the table,” Mr Del Bufalo told <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/roman-emperor-caligula-coffee-table-60-minutes-2021-11-21/" target="_blank">CBS</a>. “And he told her, ‘What a beautiful book. Oh, Helen, look, that’s your mosaic.’ And she said, ‘Yeah, that’s my mosaic.’” After tracking down the unknown woman, Mr Del Bufalo discovered that her name was Helen Fioratti, who lived in New York working as an art dealer and gallery owner. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846173/mosaic1.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/b42ce8f23e804a99b2459ff5741f9575" /> A picture of the mosaic appeared in Dario Del Bufalo’s book ‘Porphyry’. Image: 60 Minutes (YouTube) In an interview with The New York Times, Ms Fioratti said she and her husband bought the mosaic from a noble Italian family in the 1960s. When it arrived in the US, the couple turned it into a coffee table. “It was an innocent purchase,” she told the publication. “It was our favourite thing and we had it for 45 years.” Despite the pair’s affection for the piece, the Manhattan district attorney’s office seized the mosaic, saying it had been stolen from a museum. “These items may be beautiful and storied, and immensely valuable to collectors, but willfully disregarding the provenance of an item is effectively offering tacit approval of a harmful practice that is, fundamentally, criminal,” New York County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. said in a statement. <img style="width: 500px; height: 281.25px;" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7846174/mosaic2.jpg" alt="" data-udi="umb://media/ff5cd4ae477f4bff97977fe52c7c13e5" /> The lost mosaic was transformed into a coffee table by the New York art dealer.Image: 60 Minutes (YouTube) Mr Del Bufalo <a rel="noopener" href="https://happymag.tv/roman-mosaic-returned-to-museum-after-being-used-as-a-coffee-table/" target="_blank">said</a> he felt very sorry for Ms Fioratti, but that it was important that the mosaic returned to where it belonged. “I couldn’t do anything different, knowing that my museum in Nemi is missing the best part that went through the centuries, through the war, through a fire, and then through an Italian art dealer, and finally could go back to the museum,” he said. He added that he wants to make a copy of the piece for Ms Fioratti to replace her lost coffee table. “That’s the only thing I felt I should have done,” he said. “I think my soul would feel a little better.” Image: Ernesto Ruscio/Getty Images

Travel Trouble

News

Shop

Catalogues

Contests

Entertainment

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Property

Games

Information

Keep up to date

2,000-year-old mosaic rediscovered as artsy coffee table

Our Partners