Dorset County Museum bids for Dewlish mosaic

The mosaic, which dates back to the 4th Century AD, was discovered in the grounds of a Roman villa in Dewlish, near Dorchester, in 1974.

The piece was sold for £28,000 by the owner of Dewlish House at auction in 2018 to Edward Hurst, an antiques dealer who has subsequently sold the fragment to an overseas buyer.

A campaign, which shows a leopard attacking an antelope, was launched by a Dewlish group to prevent the piece from being sent abroad and, in July, the government placed a temporary export ban on the fragment.

The ban was due to expire on October 16, but has now been extended until January after Dorset County Museum expressed an interest in buying the mosaic.

The museum is working closely with Arts Council England and the V&A Purchase Grant to raise enough money to purchase the piece, which costs £135,000.

Jon Murden, director of Dorset County Museum, said: "We want this mosaic because it is such a significant piece of Dorset's heritage.

"We were not in a position to buy it when it first became available in 2018 but, given the risk of losing it from Dorset and the country, we are working to raise funds to be able to purchase it and keep it here.

"Artistically, it is an internationally significant mosaic in its own right and it has greater resonance when it is in its home community."

Campaigner and Dewlish resident, Jon Seymour, is passionate about keeping the fragment, in Dorset, and is concerned at the prospect of it 'disappearing forever and never being seen again'.

"This is a community asset and a national heritage piece," he added.

The museum plans to launch a public campaign to help fund the purchase of the piece if it cannot raise enough from public and private donors.

Mr Murden added: "I am incredibly confident that we will be able to purchase it - so confident we have already identified a place for it when the museum reopens in the spring."