Mosaic Colloquium

Hear from experts in the field at a colloquium titled “New Research on Ancient Mosaics and Wall Painting: Historical Context and Modern Presentation.” 

The two-day event brings together scholars from the United States, Canada, Europe, and Türkiye for a series of presentations and opportunities for questions and discussion, as well as a chance to experience the new Museum and engage with its collection of mosaics from ancient Antioch (Antakya, Türkiye) and other remarkable holdings. 

Cosponsored by the Princeton University Art Museum and the North American branch of AIEMA, the International Association for the Study of Ancient Mosaics. 

A block of rooms at discount rates are available on a first come first served basis at the Graduate Hotel at participants’ expense. To reserve a room, call the Graduate Hotel directly at 609.436.9400, option 2, by September 8, 2026, and refer to the “Mosaic Colloquium” event, or book online.

Schedule
Friday, October 9 

Grand Hall 

Opening Remarks | 9:30–9:40 a.m. 

David Parrish, Professor Emeritus of Art History and Archaeology, Purdue University 

Panel 1: Antioch Mosaics | 9:40–11 a.m. 

Moderated by Carolyn Laferrière, Curator of Ancient Mediterranean Art, Princeton University Art Museum 

Panelists: 
John Dobbins, Professor Emeritus of Roman Art and Archaeology, University of Virginia 
“The Princeton Collection and Antioch’s Self-Referential Mosaics” 

Nicole Berlin, Associate Curator, The Davis Museum Wellesley College, and Elizabeth Molacek, Independent Scholar 
“Excavating Antioch: The 1930s Excavations and the Afterlives of an Ancient City”       

Banu Özdelik, Director of Issos-Epiphaneia Excavations, and H. Onur Tıbıkoğlu, Independent Scholar  
“Recurrent Motifs and Compositional Patterns in Antioch Mosaics as Evidence for the Identification of the Antioch Mosaic School” 

Hatice Pamir, Director of Antioch Excavations, Hatay Mustafa Kemal University  
“Allegorical Depictions of the Months and Zodiac Signs in the Calendar Mosaics of Antioch and Epiphaneia” 

Panel 2: More Antioch Studies and Wall Painting | 11:15 a.m.–12:35 p.m. 

Moderated by Caroline Cheung, Associate Professor of Classics, Princeton University  

Panelists: 
*Nikki Vellidis, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Cambridge 
“Identifying ‘Hands’ of Mosaicists through Depictions of Foreheads in the Mosaics of Imperial-Era Antioch”  

*Miguel Pessoa, Researcher, National Conímbriga Museum 
“Echoes of Antioch: Oriental Luxury in the Mosaics of the Roman Villa of Rabaçal, Ciuitas Conimbriga, Conuentus Scallabitanus, Lusitânia (Penela, Portugal)” 

John R. Clarke, Professor of Art History, University of Texas at Austin  
“Bringing Statues to Life: Motion Parallax and megalographia signorum in Roman Painting” 

Elaine Gazda, Professor Emerita of Classical Art and Archaeology, University of Michigan 
“Approaching the Bacchic Murals in the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii” 

Lunch Break | 12:35–2 p.m. 

Boxed lunches will be available for purchase in the Museum’s Education Commons. Lunch is also available for purchase at Mosaic, the Museum’s restaurant located on the third floor. Reservations for Mosaic are encouraged via Resy. 

Panel 3: Iconography in Roman and Late Antique Mosaics | 2:10–3:30 p.m. 

Moderated by Leigh Lieberman, Department of Art & Archaeology, Princeton University 

Panelists: 
Melissa Barden Dowling, Associate Professor of Classics and History, Southern Methodist University  
“The Philosophical Fisherman: Philosophy, Religion, and the Afterlife in Roman Mosaics” 

Alexander Ekserdjian, Assistant Professor of Classics and History of Art, Yale University  
“The Writing on the Floor: Mosaic Inscriptions in Republican Temples” 

*Katherine Dunbabin, Professor Emerita of Classics, McMaster University   
“Isgunte nica, Calpio vivas, eutychōs Leukaktiō: Individual Names in Mosaic Inscriptions and Their Temporal Consequences” 

*Nur Deniz Ünsal, Research Assistant in Archaeology, Bursa Uludağ University, and Derya Şahin, Professor of Archaeology, Bursa Uludağ University  
“Recovering a Mosaic in the Heart of Anatolia: New Research on the Mosaic Structure of Yavru Village (Amasya)”  

Keynote Lecture | 3:45–4:30 p.m. 

Carolyn Laferrière, Curator of Ancient Mediterranean Art, Princeton University Art Museum 
“Installing Ancient Antioch in the New Princeton University Art Museum” 

Reception | 4:30–5:30 p.m.  

Explore the Galleries 
The Museum galleries will be open until 8 p.m.  

Saturday, October 10 

Grand Hall 

Panel 4: Technical Studies and Rediscoveries of Roman Mosaics | 9:30–10:50 a.m. 

Moderated by John Sigmier, Assistant Professor of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University 

Panelists: 
Eleonora Del Federico, Professor, Pratt Institute 
“Non-Invasive, In-Situ, Multi-Analytical Study of the Nymphaeum Mosaics and Wall Paintings in the House of Neptune and Amphitrite, Herculaneum” 

Lea Cline, Professor of Art History, Illinois State University, and Anna Serotta, Conservator, Metropolitan Museum of Art 
“Fragmented Mosaics, Fragmented Contexts: Conservation and Interpretation at Valle Gianni” 

Hilary Becker, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Binghamton University (SUNY)  
“The Color That Lies Beneath: Pigments Used for Sinopia and Tinted Mortar in Roman Wall Painting and Mosaics” 

Joanne Spurza, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, Hunter College 
“Rediscovered Ostian Mosaics in the Drawings of a Nineteenth-Century French Architect”  

Panel 5: Late Antique and Early Byzantine Mosaics and Related Media | 11:05 a.m.–12:45 p.m. 

Moderated by John R. Clarke, Professor of Art History, University of Texas at Austin 

Panelists: 
Jane Chick, Research Associate, University of East Anglia  
“Bringing the Outside In: Flower Garlands in Late Antique Art” 

Ruth Kolarik, Professor of Art History, Colorado College  
“The Early Church at Stobi:  Stages of Mosaic Making and their Implications”  

Betsey A. Robinson, Associate Professor of Art History, Vanderbilt University  
“Refinishing Corinth: Late Antique Floor Mosaics and Urban Transformation” 

Örgü Dalgıç, Lecturer in Religion and Visual Culture, Yale University  
“Pre-Constantinian Mosaics of Istanbul and the Hinterland: Old and New Finds” 

*Ivo Topalilov, Associate Professor, Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 
“On the Mosaic Pavements of the Syrian Community of Thrace”   

Lunch Break | 12:45–2:15 p.m. 

Boxed lunches will be available for purchase in the Museum’s Education Commons. Lunch is also available for purchase at Mosaic, the Museum’s restaurant located on the third floor. Reservations for Mosaic are encouraged via Resy. 

Panel 6: Iconography | 2:20–4 p.m. 

Moderated by John Dobbins, Professor Emeritus of Roman Art and Archaeology, University of Virginia 

Panelists: 
Kara K. Burns, Associate Professor of Art History, University of South Alabama  
“The Orpheus Mosaic at Littlecote Park: Another Look” 

*Audrey Cottet, Academic Research Director, École Normale Supérieure de Paris  
“Cymbal Playing in Late Antiquity: Resonances Between Romano-Byzantine and Late Sasanian Iconographies” 

David Parrish, Professor Emeritus of Art History and Archaeology, Purdue University  
“Musicians and Musical Instruments in Late Antique and Early Byzantine Mosaics and Related Media: Selected Examples and their Historical Context” 

Richard Maguire, Honorary Associate Professor of History and Art History, University of East Anglia  
“The Hippodrome Carceres and the Apse Mosaic at Sta. Pudenziana in Rome” 

*Irina Andreescu, Independent Scholar  
“Mosaics from San Marco, Venice” 

Business Meeting | 4:15–4:45 p.m. 

Explore the Galleries 
The Museum galleries will be open until 5 p.m.  

*Remote presentation 
 

The Mosaic Colloquium is organized by Ruth Kolarik, Colorado College; Carolyn Laferrière, Princeton University Art Museum; and David Parrish, Professor Emeritus, Purdue University. It is cosponsored by the North American branch of International Association for the Study of Ancient Mosaics and the Princeton University Art Museum.