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They are silhouette mosaics, using mostly nickel-size colored glass tesserae, trimmed and shaped individually, imbedded in tinted mortar. [2] The tiles form the main elements of the murals, while colored plaster forms the backgrounds. This saved costs and provided a contrast in the works between the two different materials used. [1]
On one hand, the name "meander" recalls the twisting and turning path of the Maeander River in Asia Minor (present day Turkey) that is typical of river pathways.On another hand, as Karl Kerenyi pointed out, "the meander is the figure of a labyrinth in linear form".
Tesserae of a mosaic of doves drinking at a golden basin, 1st century AD, National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy. A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive tessella) is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus.
Like other mosaics, Byzantine mosaics are made of small pieces of glass, stone, ceramic, or other material, which are called tesserae. [18] During the Byzantine period, craftsmen expanded the materials that could be turned into tesserae, beginning to include gold leaf and precious stones, and perfected their construction.
Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, 548. Italy has the richest concentration of Late Antique and medieval mosaics in the world. Although the art style is especially associated with Byzantine art and many Italian mosaics were probably made by imported Greek-speaking artists and craftsmen, there are surprisingly few significant mosaics remaining in the core Byzantine territories.
Traditional mosaics have a history dating back to at least the fourth century BC, and employ a variety of methodologies to create their images. However, traditional mosaics share the common feature of employing small, uniformly colored materials to create a pattern or picture. Because the tiles can be cut into irregular shapes to conform to the ...
Micromosaic brooch set in black glass, c. 1875, of the Pantheon Byzantine mosaic icon, 45 cm high, 13th century.. Micromosaics (or micro mosaics, micro-mosaics) are a special form of mosaic that uses unusually small mosaic pieces of glass, or in later Italian pieces an enamel-like material, to make small figurative images. [1]
The mosaics are incredibly large, with "The Worcester Hunt," the largest Antioch mosaic in the United States, [3] measuring 20.5 feet (6.26 m) x 23.3 feet (7.11 m). [5] The mosaics range in design from realistic imagery and scenes, to purely geometric patterns. [4] It is believed that the mosaics were created by mosaic specialists. [1]