Mosaic tesserae
Mosaics are created using small pieces of colored materials arranged to form images or patterns, set into plaster or other adhesive support. Mosaics set into waterproof matrices were used in ancient times to decorate moist environments such as baths, fountains, and gardens. Mosaics were an important form of decoration in Roman buildings, and during the Christian era were of particular importance in the iconographic programs of Byzantine churches. Mosaics were also used by Muslim artists to embellish the interiors of mosques with richly detailed Arabic calligraphy and abstract designs.
The ancient Greeks began making pebble mosaics around the fourth century BCE, using small colored stones found in rivers and streams. To achieve more nuanced color effects, the Romans began using colored marble during the second century BCE, cutting the stone into small cubes called tesserae.
When the Byzantines began to use glazed tile and opaque colored glass to make tesserae for their mosaics, they gained a much richer and more intense color palette. The Byzantine mosaic artist selected each color and shaped each individual tessera as the composition evolved, using a special small hammer with a beveled head to tap out each cube of the desired size and color from small spalls, or puddles, of glass on a miniature anvil. Byzantine mosaic compositions tended to be rather linear, with figures outlined in dark colors and portrayed frontally. Still, within these stylistic constraints, Byzantine mosaic artists often used very small tesserae to achieve subtle effects of shading and tonal variation.
Byzantine churches, though often quite plain on the exterior, were rich and colorful inside due to the profusion of mosaic decoration. The principal image of God or Christ enthroned (Greek, Christos Pantokrator = “Christ as the Ruler of the Universe”) or the Virgin and Child (Greek, Theotokos = literally “She who carries God”) was often placed overhead in the dome, while on the pendentives and squinches supporting the dome would appear scenes from the life of Christ, or other stories from the Bible. At the lower levels were mosaic figures of saints, apostles, and prophets. The entire mosaic program worked together to remind the worshipper that it was the church that brought together the divine (the dome, representing heaven) and the earthly (the square floor plan).
Mosaic tesserae made of clear glass backed with gold foil were used to create a halo around the head of each holy figure, and often would be used for the entire background of a scene set in heaven. As the viewer moves toward each mosaic, these golden grounds create an effect of shimmering radiance, and the fact that the golden tesserae are naturally set at slightly different angles makes them seem to glitter with transcendent light.
These specimens were collected during restoration work in the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy by Allan T. Kohl in 1989.
See MCAD Library's catalog record for this material.
Mosaic tesserae
Mosaics are created using small pieces of colored materials arranged to form images or patterns, set into plaster or other adhesive support. Mosaics set into waterproof matrices were used in ancient times to decorate moist environments such as baths, fountains, and gardens. Mosaics were an important form of decoration in Roman buildings, and during the Christian era were of particular importance in the iconographic programs of Byzantine churches. Mosaics were also used by Muslim artists to embellish the interiors of mosques with richly detailed Arabic calligraphy and abstract designs.
The ancient Greeks began making pebble mosaics around the fourth century BCE, using small colored stones found in rivers and streams. To achieve more nuanced color effects, the Romans began using colored marble during the second century BCE, cutting the stone into small cubes called tesserae.
When the Byzantines began to use glazed tile and opaque colored glass to make tesserae for their mosaics, they gained a much richer and more intense color palette. The Byzantine mosaic artist selected each color and shaped each individual tessera as the composition evolved, using a special small hammer with a beveled head to tap out each cube of the desired size and color from small spalls, or puddles, of glass on a miniature anvil. Byzantine mosaic compositions tended to be rather linear, with figures outlined in dark colors and portrayed frontally. Still, within these stylistic constraints, Byzantine mosaic artists often used very small tesserae to achieve subtle effects of shading and tonal variation.
Byzantine churches, though often quite plain on the exterior, were rich and colorful inside due to the profusion of mosaic decoration. The principal image of God or Christ enthroned (Greek, Christos Pantokrator = “Christ as the Ruler of the Universe”) or the Virgin and Child (Greek, Theotokos = literally “She who carries God”) was often placed overhead in the dome, while on the pendentives and squinches supporting the dome would appear scenes from the life of Christ, or other stories from the Bible. At the lower levels were mosaic figures of saints, apostles, and prophets. The entire mosaic program worked together to remind the worshipper that it was the church that brought together the divine (the dome, representing heaven) and the earthly (the square floor plan).
Mosaic tesserae made of clear glass backed with gold foil were used to create a halo around the head of each holy figure, and often would be used for the entire background of a scene set in heaven. As the viewer moves toward each mosaic, these golden grounds create an effect of shimmering radiance, and the fact that the golden tesserae are naturally set at slightly different angles makes them seem to glitter with transcendent light.
These specimens were collected during restoration work in the Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy by Allan T. Kohl in 1989.
See MCAD Library's catalog record for this material.