DAI | exhibitions

September 21, 2007 - January 6, 2008

Rome was once a vast empire – one of the greatest and most powerful in history. From its legendary founding in 753 BCE, until its eventual fall in 1453 CE, Roman civilization spanned more than two thousand years. At its peak it is estimated that the population of the Roman Empire numbered more than one third of the world’s population.

The Roman Empire was a “melting pot,” composed of people from different ethnic identities, religions, and native tongues. Romans lived in a pluralistic society geographically, spanning three continents – Africa, Asia, and Europe – with people who worshipped numerous gods in a variety of religions. Many Romans worshipped the traditional Greco-Roman gods, but Romans were also Christians, Jews, and followers of Eastern religions such as the cults of Mithras, Isis and Astarte. In Roman cities temples to pagan gods sat next to Jewish synagogues, and later on, to Christian basilicas.

Common cultural symbolism is found in the art of the various religions of Rome. In some cases, a motif established by one religion would be adopted by another and maintain the same meaning. In other cases, the motif stayed the same but the meaning changed. The motifs and symbols of Roman times, in many cases, still pervade our culture to this day.

THE ROMAN WORLD: Religions and Everyday Life will include more than 140 objects from everyday life and religious ritual, dating from the 5th century BCE to the 7th century CE and beyond. The artifacts will include mosaics, sculptures, textiles, glass, jewelry and coins.

At the heart of THE ROMAN WORLD is Tree of Paradise: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire, an exhibition that broke attendance records when it debuted in Brooklyn, New York. These twenty-one mosaic panels were acquired by the Brooklyn Museum in 1905. Twelve of the panels were part of the sanctuary floor of the synagogue in Hammam Lif, Tunisia, and depict themes of Creation and Paradise. The Latin inscription on the floor panels indicates that Julia of Naro gave the floor to the community—a rare example of female patronage in the ancient world. Two menorahs flank the inscription. Included are depictions of a tree in Paradise, sea animals and birds in a scene portraying Creation, and symbolic birds and baskets that relate to the themes of Creation and the coming of the Messiah. Decorative motifs include birds and fruits. The remaining nine panels came from other rooms in the synagogue and other nearby buildings. They depict animals, a male figure, and a female figure.

The presence of these twenty-one extraordinary Roman-period mosaics sheds new light on the development of synagogue decoration in the late Roman Empire. The presentation investigates the origins of synagogues, the development of Jewish art in the Roman period, female patronage in the ancient synagogue, the differences between early Christian and Jewish symbolism in art, and the relationship between ancient and modern synagogues.

This exhibition also includes exceptional objects borrowed from other museums. Highlights include: a stone sarcophagus (burial coffin) from Emory University’s Carlos Museum; Torso of a Satyr from the Columbus Museum of Art; a relief sculpture of Mithras Slaying the Bull from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; Coptic textiles; exquisite glass from the Toledo Museum of Art; and rarely seen objects from The Dayton Art Institute’s collection. Many of the artifacts included in THE ROMAN WORLD have never before been publicly exhibited.

THE ROMAN WORLD: Religions and Everyday Life was guest curated by Dr. Sally A. Struthers, Dean of Liberal Arts, Communication, and Social Sciences at Sinclair Community College. Dr. Struthers earned her bachelor of arts degree from Wright State University, majoring in Art History and Classics, and her master of arts and doctor of philosophy degrees from The Ohio State University, specializing in Ancient Greek and Roman, Italian Renaissance, and Baroque art. Her doctoral dissertation traced the evolution of the putto from Hellenistic Greece through the Early Renaissance.

Struthers has been honored as a Dayton “Up and Comer;” as Faculty of the Year (twice) at Capital University, where she taught as an adjunct; as a Teaching Excellence award winner from the National Institute of Staff and Organizational Development and the Southwestern Consortium for Higher Education; and as a Distinguished Alumna in Wright State University’s College of Liberal Arts.

Struthers is also an exhibiting photographer, whose recent photographs of Ancient Rome Today will be on view in the last gallery of THE ROMAN WORLD exhibition.

Ticket Prices
Member		Free
Adult		$14.00
Senior (60+)		$12.00
Student (19+ w/ID)		$12.00
Youth (7-18)		$7.00
Child (6 & under)		Free

Sponsors

Rose Family Philanthropic Fund of the JFGD

Levin Family Foundation

Linda W. Ruchman Memorial Philanthropic Fund of the JFGD
The Bon-Ton Stores Foundation

Bernard and Carole Rabinowitz Philanthropic Fund of the JFGD

Mitchell and Beatrice Singer