Building Materials - Table of Contents................ Illustrated
Architecture Dictionary
Mosaic
moh ZAA ik
A process of inlaying small pieces of stone, tile, glass or enamel into a cement or plaster matrix, making a pattern, design or representational picture
Much used by in Roman and later times for floors and wall decoration.
Tessera (plural: tesserae): an individual tile in a mosaic, usually formed in the shape of a cube. Materials:
- Naturally colored pebbles
- Marble or limestone cut into small cubes arranged into the required design
- Colored glass, or clear glass backed with metal foils
- Byzantines tesserae with gold leaf, in which case the glass pieces were flatter, with two glass pieces sandwiching the gold
TEXT CONTINUED BELOW THE PHOTOS
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Buffalo: Ellicott Square Building |
Buffalo: Bemis House |
Buffalo: City Hall |
Buffalo: Guaranty Building |
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Roman Baths of Caracalla Mosaics |
Monastery of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Hydra, Greece |
St. Mark's Basilica, Venice, Italy |
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Basilica di San Clemente, Rome, Italy |
Buffalo: Market Arcade Building |
Mosaic: A pattern formed by inlaying small pieces of stone, tile, glass, or enamel into a cement, mortar, or plaster matrix. It can be applied for the incrustation of the interior or the facade of the building, It can be used as the functional flooring or ceiling cover.
Mosaic belongs to decorative arts. Making mosaic is to make picture by joining together small pieces of stone, glass, glazed tiles etc. The mosaic was used in ancient times - beautiful mosaic decorations can be found throughout the countries of the Roman Empire, in domestic and public spaces. The art of mosaic flourished in Early Christian and in Byzantine art - churches in Daphni (Greece) and in Ravenna (Italy) are the best examples. During eleventh and twelfth centuries mosaic decoration ornate the churches of Venice, Greece, Sicily and Rome. After a period of decline mosaic was rediscovered by the the Art Nouveau artists in the nineteenth century.
Mosaics and Early Christian Buildings
Mosaics played an important a role in the interiors of Early Christian buildings. When, under Constantine, Christianity suddenly became a public and official religion in Rome, not only were new buildings required to house the faithful, but wholesale programs of decoration for the churches also became necessary.To advertise the new faith in all its diverse aspects ñ its dogma, scriptural narrative, and symbolism ñ and to instruct and edify the believer, acres of walls in dozens of new churches had to be filled in the style and medium that would carry the message most effectively.
Brilliant ornamental mosaics, with sparkling tesserae(small squares) of reflective glass, rather than the opaque, marble tesserae preferred by the Romans, almost immediately became the standard vehicle of expression.Other examples of mosaics:
- Altar reredos - St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Buffalo, NY
- Floor - St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Buffalo, NY
- Floors - Piazza Amerina: Villa del Casale, Sicily
Sources:
- "Gardner's Art Through the Ages, Tenth Edition," by Richard G. Tansey and Fred S. Kleiner. Harcourt Brace College Pub. 1996
- Mosaic
