Caligula's Mosaic Was a Coffee Table in New York

A 2,000-year-old mosaic, created for the notorious Roman Emperor Caligula, spent nearly 50 years as a coffee table in a Manhattan apartment. The rare stone artwork once decorated one of Caligula’s lavish ceremonial ships on Lake Nemi, near Rome. After the emperor’s assassination in 41 AD, the ships were sunk. The mosaic was recovered in the 1890s. Its modern journey began in the 1960s. An Italian noble family sold it. The buyers, a New York couple, used it as a unique centerpiece in their home. They were unaware of its imperial origin and immense historical value. The artifact’s true identity was confirmed in 2013 by an expert from the Getty Museum. It is now displayed at New York’s Museum of Fine Arts.