The Inauguration of the Restored Antique Mosaic Hylas and the Nymphs and of the Renovated Exhibition Decorative Art of Ancient Rome in the 1st to 3rd Centuries A.D.

Reexhibition and reconstruction of the permanent exhibitions of the art of Classical Antiqity is going on in the State Hermitage Museum. This work started in 1997. Three rooms of antique art have been opened so far. The rooms contain new exhibitions. The renovated rooms are equipped with the modern illumination and alarm systems.
The new room of the Department of Antiquity with the renovated exhibition Decorative Art of Ancient Rome in the 1st to 3rd Centuries opened after the reconstruction.
The antique mosaic Hylas and the Nymphs, the principal item of the new display, was created in the late 3rd or early 4th century. The mosaic on the subject devoted to the abduction of a fine boy Hylas by the nymphs of a spring presumably adorned the floor of some thermae in ancient Rome. The relics were found not far from Rome near the thermae of Palatina, the wife of Emperor Trajan. In 1856 it was purchased for Emeror Nicholas I and displayed in the Imperial Museum.
The extremely complicated task of restoration of this mosaic was conducted under the supervision of the laboratory for the restoration of stone articles of the State Hermitage Museum with the specialists from the State Russian Museum participating in the work. As a result of the restoration process, that lasted for eight months, the ancient mosaic was rescued from destruction. As long as in the 19th century the mosaic was brought to St Petersburg being cut in parts that were later tied together, the constant process of decomposition of the tying mortar was going on in different parts of the exhibit. To rescue the monument the restoration specialists conducted a series of complex measures. They dismantled fragments of the mosaic, fixed them on a new base, joined the breaks along the edges with special glue solutions. The lost fragments of the mosaic were recreated, the authentic fragments were covered with a conservating composition,the whole surface was protected by means of wax.

The exhibition includes two smaller mosaic pieces - June, one of the best Hermitage mosaics, a part of the allegoric calendar composition representing all the months, the Earth, the Sun and the Moon and The Attributes of Hercules. The reliefs on the walls, funeral urns and sarcophagi represent different artistic schools of the Roman Empire in the 1st to 3rd centuries. The striking variety of styles, ornamental patterns and subjects is demonstrated in the displayed reliefs.

The reconsruction of the exhibition and the restoration of the mosaic Hylas and the Nymphs were implemented due to generous financial support of Jayne Wrightsman, one of the main sponsors of the State Hermitage Museum and the member of the International Friends’ Club of the Hermitage.

The renovated exhibition

Mosaic before the restoration

Fragment of the mosaic before the restoration