Mosaic

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Graciella 2 episodes, Bridey Elliott Tia 2 episodes, Kari Hawker-Diaz Reporter 2 episodes, Ben Livingston David Stocker 2 episodes, Shelly Gibson Arden Clarke 2 episodes, Veronica Osorio Leticia 2 episodes, Trenton James Brian Duane 2 episodes, Peter D'Alessio Shapiro 2 episodes, James DuMont Taylor 2 episodes, Sinclair DuMont Ava 2 episodes, Thomas F. Edit Details Official Sites: Official Facebook Official site. Edit Did You Know? Connections Featured in Conan: Add the first question. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Report this.

Audible Download Audio Books. Nate Henry 7 episodes, Joel Hurley 7 episodes, Eric Neill 7 episodes, Michael O'Connor 7 episodes, Olivia Lake 7 episodes, Petra Neill 7 episodes, Melissa Henry 7 episodes, Frank Scott 7 episodes, Laura Hurley 7 episodes, JC Schiffer 7 episodes, Horacio 7 episodes, Tom Davis 6 episodes, Alan Pape 6 episodes, Amy Lambson 3 episodes, Reporter 3 episodes, Dick Andreesen 3 episodes, Cliff Jones 2 episodes, Petra's Assistant 2 episodes, Elizabeth Neill 2 episodes, Mercy 2 episodes, Graciella 2 episodes, Tia 2 episodes, Reporter 2 episodes, David Stocker 2 episodes, Arden Clarke 2 episodes, Leticia 2 episodes, Brian Duane 2 episodes, Shapiro 2 episodes, Taylor and Ava's Dad 2 episodes, Although the mosaics of the naos have not survived except three panels, the decoration of the exonarthex and the esonarthex constitute the most important full-scale mosaic cycle in Constantinople after the Hagia Sophia.

They were executed around by the command of Theodore Metochites. The esonarthex has two fluted domes, specially created to provide the ideal setting for the mosaic images of the ancestors of Christ. The southern one is called the Dome of the Pantokrator while the northern one is the Dome of the Theotokos. The most important panel of the esonarthex depicts Theodore Metochites wearing a huge turban , offering the model of the church to Christ. The walls of both narthexes are decorated with mosaic cycles from the life of the Virgin and the life of Christ.

These panels show the influence of the Italian trecento on Byzantine art especially the more natural settings, landscapes, figures. The last Byzantine mosaic work was created for the Hagia Sophia, Constantinople in the middle of the 14th century. The great eastern arch of the cathedral collapsed in , bringing down the third of the main dome.

By not only the big Pantokrator image was restored but new mosaics were set on the eastern arch depicting the Theotokos, the Baptist and Emperor John V Palaiologos discovered only in In addition to the large-scale monuments several miniature mosaic icons of outstanding quality was produced for the Palaiologos court and nobles. The loveliest examples from the 14th century are Annunciation in the Victoria and Albert Museum and a mosaic diptych in the Cathedral Treasury of Florence representing the Twelve Feasts of the Church.

In the troubled years of the 15th century the fatally weakened empire could not afford luxurious mosaics. Churches were decorated with wall-paintings in this era and after the Turkish conquest. The last great period of Roman mosaic art was the 12th—13th century when Rome developed its own distinctive artistic style, free from the strict rules of eastern tradition and with a more realistic portrayal of figures in the space.

The beautiful apse mosaic of Santa Maria in Trastevere depicts Christ and Mary sitting next to each other on the heavenly throne, the first example of this iconographic scheme. It is a work of Jacopo Torriti from The mosaics of Torriti and Jacopo da Camerino in the apse of San Giovanni in Laterano from —94 were thoroughly restored in The apse mosaic of San Crisogono is attributed to Pietro Cavallini , the greatest Roman painter of the 13th century.

Six scenes from the life of Mary in Santa Maria in Trastevere were also executed by Cavallini in These mosaics are praised for their realistic portrayal and attempts at perspective. There is an interesting mosaic medaillon from above the gate of the church of San Tommaso in Formis showing Christ enthroned between a white and a black slave. The church belonged to the Order of the Trinitarians which was devoted to ransoming Christian slaves.

The great Navicella mosaic — in the atrium of the Old St.

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Peter's is attributed to Giotto di Bondone. The giant mosaic, commissioned by Cardinal Jacopo Stefaneschi , was originally situated on the eastern porch of the old basilica and occupied the whole wall above the entrance arcade facing the courtyard. Peter walking on the waters. This extraordinary work was mainly destroyed during the construction of the new St. Peter's in the 17th century. Navicella means "little ship" referring to the large boat which dominated the scene, and whose sail, filled by the storm, loomed over the horizon.

Such a natural representation of a seascape was known only from ancient works of art. The heyday of mosaic making in Sicily was the age of the independent Norman kingdom in the 12th century. The Norman kings adopted the Byzantine tradition of mosaic decoration to enhance the somewhat dubious legality of their rule. Greek masters working in Sicily developed their own style, that shows the influence of Western European and Islamic artistic tendencies.

The Cappella Palatina clearly shows evidence for blending the eastern and western styles. The dome —42 and the eastern end of the church — were decorated with typical Byzantine mosaics i. Pantokrator, angels, scenes from the life of Christ. Even the inscriptions are written in Greek. Paul's Basilica in Rome Latin inscriptions, — The Martorana church decorated around looked originally even more Byzantine although important parts were later demolished.

The dome mosaic is similar to that of the Cappella Palatina, with Christ enthroned in the middle and four bowed, elongated angels. The Greek inscriptions, decorative patterns, and evangelists in the squinches are obviously executed by the same Greek masters who worked on the Cappella Palatina. The mosaic depicting Roger II of Sicily, dressed in Byzantine imperial robes and receiving the crown by Christ, was originally in the demolished narthex together with another panel, the Theotokos with Georgios of Antiochia, the founder of the church.

On the walls are Latin and Greek saints, with Greek inscriptions. The Monreale mosaics constitute the largest decoration of this kind in Italy, covering 0,75 hectares with at least million glass and stone tesserae. The iconography of the mosaics in the presbytery is similar to Cefalu while the pictures in the nave are almost the same as the narrative scenes in the Cappella Palatina.

Another panel shows the king offering the model of the cathedral to the Theotokos. The Cathedral of Palermo , rebuilt by Archbishop Walter in the same time —85 , was also decorated with mosaics but none of these survived except the 12th-century image of Madonna del Tocco above the western portal. In the left apse of the same cathedral 14th-century mosaics survived, representing the Madonna and Child between Saints Agata and Lucy, the Archangels Gabriel and Michael and Queens Eleonora and Elisabetta.

Southern Italy was also part of the Norman kingdom but great mosaics did not survive in this area except the fine mosaic pavement of the Otranto Cathedral from , with mosaics tied into a tree of life, mostly still preserved. The scenes depict biblical characters, warrior kings, medieval beasts, allegories of the months and working activity. Only fragments survived from the original mosaic decoration of Amalfi 's Norman Cathedral.

The mosaic ambos in the churches of Ravello prove that mosaic art was widespread in Southern Italy during the 11th—13th centuries. The palaces of the Norman kings were decorated with mosaics depicting animals and landscapes. The secular mosaics are seemingly more Eastern in character than the great religious cycles and show a strong Persian influence.

The most notable examples are the Sala di Ruggero in the Palazzo dei Normanni , Palermo and the Sala della Fontana in the Zisa summer palace, both from the 12th century. In parts of Italy , which were under eastern artistic influences, like Sicily and Venice , mosaic making never went out of fashion in the Middle Ages. The whole interior of the St Mark's Basilica in Venice is clad with elaborate, golden mosaics.

The oldest scenes were executed by Greek masters in the late 11th century but the majority of the mosaics are works of local artists from the 12th—13th centuries. The decoration of the church was finished only in the 16th century. One hundred and ten scenes of mosaics in the atrium of St Mark's were based directly on the miniatures of the Cotton Genesis , a Byzantine manuscript that was brought to Venice after the sack of Constantinople The mosaics were executed in the s. Other important Venetian mosaics can be found in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Torcello from the 12th century, and in the Basilical of Santi Maria e Donato in Murano with a restored apse mosaic from the 12th century and a beautiful mosaic pavement The apse of the San Cipriano Church in Murano was decorated with an impressive golden mosaic from the early 13th century showing Christ enthroned with Mary, St John and the two patron saints, Cipriano and Cipriana.

When the church was demolished in the 19th century, the mosaic was bought by Frederick William IV of Prussia. It was reassembled in the Friedenskirche of Potsdam in the s. Trieste was also an important center of mosaic art. The mosaics in the apse of the Cathedral of San Giusto were laid by master craftsmen from Veneto in the 12th—13th centuries. The monastery of Grottaferrata founded by Greek Basilian monks and consecrated by the Pope in was decorated with Italo-Byzantine mosaics, some of which survived in the narthex and the interior.

The mosaics on the triumphal arch portray the Twelve Apostles sitting beside an empty throne, evoking Christ's ascent to Heaven. It is a Byzantine work of the 12th century. There is a beautiful 11th-century Deesis above the main portal. The Abbot of Monte Cassino , Desiderius sent envoys to Constantinople some time after to hire expert Byzantine mosaicists for the decoration of the rebuilt abbey church. According to chronicler Leo of Ostia the Greek artists decorated the apse, the arch and the vestibule of the basilica.

Their work was admired by contemporaries but was totally destroyed in later centuries except two fragments depicting greyhounds now in the Monte Cassino Museum. In Florence a magnificiant mosaic of the Last Judgement decorates the dome of the Baptistery. The earliest mosaics, works of art of many unknown Venetian craftsmen including probably Cimabue , date from The covering of the ceiling was probably not completed until the 14th century.

John the Evangelist in the apse of the cathedral of Pisa was designed by Cimabue in It evokes the Monreale mosaics in style. It survived the great fire of which destroyed most of the mediveval interior decoration. Beyond the Alps the first important example of mosaic art was the decoration of the Palatine Chapel in Aachen , commissioned by Charlemagne. It was completely destroyed in a fire in This unique work of art, rediscovered only in the 19th century, had no followers. Only scant remains prove that mosaics were still used in the Early Middle Ages.

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The Abbey of Saint-Martial in Limoges , originally an important place of pilgrimage, was totally demolished during the French Revolution except its crypt which was rediscovered in the s. A mosaic panel was unearthed which was dated to the 9th century. It somewhat incongruously uses cubes of gilded glass and deep green marble, probably taken from antique pavements.

This could also be the case with the early 9th century mosaic found under the Basilica of Saint-Quentin in Picardy , where antique motifs are copied but using only simple colors. The mosaics in the Cathedral of Saint-Jean at Lyon have been dated to the 11th century because they employ the same non-antique simple colors. More fragments were found on the site of Saint-Croix at Poitiers which might be from the 6th or 9th century. Later fresco replaced the more labor-intensive technique of mosaic in Western-Europe, although mosaics were sometimes used as decoration on medieval cathedrals.

It was probably a work of Venetian or Ravennese craftsmen, executed in the first decades of the 11th century. The mosaic was almost totally destroyed together with the basilica in the 17th century. The Golden Gate of the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague got its name from the golden 14th-century mosaic of the Last Judgement above the portal. It was executed by Venetian craftsmen. The Crusaders in the Holy Land also adopted mosaic decoration under local Byzantine influence.

During their 12th-century reconstruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem they complemented the existing Byzantine mosaics with new ones.

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Almost nothing of them survived except the "Ascension of Christ" in the Latin Chapel now confusingly surrounded by many 20th-century mosaics. More substantial fragments were preserved from the 12th-century mosaic decoration of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. The mosaics in the nave are arranged in five horizontal bands with the figures of the ancestors of Christ, Councils of the Church and angels. The program of redecoration of the church was completed in as a unique collaboration of the Byzantine emperor, the king of Jerusalem and the Latin Church.

The panels depict real or fantastic animal, floral, solar and geometric representations. Some archeologists supposed that it was the floor of an Orthodox church, built some time between the 10th and 11th century. Other experts claim that it was part of the later Catholic monastery on the site because it shows the signs of strong Italianate influence. The monastery was situated that time in the territory of the Kingdom of Hungary. Although mosaics went out of fashion and were substituted by frescoes, some of the great Renaissance artists also worked with the old technique.

Instead of frescoes the cavernous Basilica was mainly decorated with mosaics. Among the explanations are:. The mosaics of St. Peter's often show lively Baroque compositions based on designs or canvases from like Ciro Ferri , Guido Reni , Domenichino , Carlo Maratta , and many others. Raphael is represented by a mosaic replica of this last painting, the Transfiguration. Many different artists contributed to the 17th- and 18th-century mosaics in St. The eastern provinces of the Eastern Roman and later the Byzantine Empires inherited a strong artistic tradition from the Late Antiquity. Similarly to Italy and Constantinople churches and important secular buildings in the region of Syria and Egypt were decorated with elaborate mosaic panels between the 5th and 8th centuries.

The great majority of these works of art were later destroyed but archeological excavations unearthed many surviving examples. The single most important piece of Byzantine Christian mosaic art in the East is the Madaba Map , made between and as the floor of the church of Saint George at Madaba , Jordan.

It was rediscovered in The Madaba Map is the oldest surviving cartographic depiction of the Holy Land. It depicts an area from Lebanon in the north to the Nile Delta in the south, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Eastern Desert. The largest and most detailed element of the topographic depiction is Jerusalem , at the center of the map.

The map is enriched with many naturalistic features, like animals, fishing boats, bridges and palm trees. One of the earliest examples of Byzantine mosaic art in the region can be found on Mount Nebo , an important place of pilgrimage in the Byzantine era where Moses died. Among the many 6th-century mosaics in the church complex discovered after the most interesting one is located in the baptistery. The intact floor mosaic covers an area of 9 x 3 m and was laid down in It depicts hunting and pastoral scenes with rich Middle Eastern flora and fauna. The Church of Sts. Its floor mosaic depicts everyday activities like grape harvest.

Another two spectacular mosaics were discovered in the ruined Church of Preacher John nearby. One of the mosaics was placed above the other one which was completely covered and unknown until the modern restoration. The figures on the older mosaic have thus escaped the iconoclasts. The town of Madaba remained an important center of mosaic making during the 5th—8th centuries. In the Church of the Apostles the middle of the main panel Thalassa, goddess of the sea, can be seen surrounded by fishes and other sea creatures.

Native Middle Eastern birds, mammals, plants and fruits were also added. Generally wall mosaics have not survived in the region because of the destruction of buildings but the St. Catherine's Monastery is exceptional. On the upper wall Moses is shown in two panels on a landscape background. In the apse we can see the Transfiguration of Jesus on a golden background.

The apse is surrounded with bands containing medallions of apostles and prophets, and two contemporary figure, "Abbot Longinos" and "John the Deacon". Jerusalem with its many holy places probably had the highest concentration of mosaic-covered churches but very few of them survived the subsequent waves of destructions.

The present remains do not do justice to the original richness of the city. The most important is the so-called "Armenian Mosaic" which was discovered in on the Street of the Prophets near Damascus Gate. It depicts a vine with many branches and grape clusters, which springs from a vase. Populating the vine's branches are peacocks, ducks, storks, pigeons, an eagle, a partridge, and a parrot in a cage. The symbolism of the mosaic and the presence of the burial cave indicates that the room was used as a mortuary chapel.

An exceptionally well preserved, carpet-like mosaic floor was uncovered in in Bethany , the early Byzantine church of the Lazarium which was built between and Because of its purely geometrical pattern, the church floor is to be grouped with other mosaics of the time in Palestine and neighboring areas, especially the Constantinian mosaics in the central nave at Bethlehem.

The monastic communities of the Judean Desert also decorated their monasteries with mosaic floors. The Monastery of Martyrius was founded in the end of the 5th century and it was re-discovered in — The most important work of art here is the intact geometric mosaic floor of the refectory although the severely damaged church floor was similarly rich.

They were laid down in the Umayyad era, after a devastating earthquake in Two six pointed stars and a red chalice are the most important surviving features. Mosaic art also flourished in Christian Petra where three Byzantine churches were discovered. The most important one was uncovered in It is known that the walls were also covered with golden glass mosaics but only the floor panels survived as usual. The mosaic of the seasons in the southern aisle is from this first building period from the middle of the 5th century. In the first half of the 6th century the mosaics of the northern aisle and the eastern end of the southern aisle were installed.

They depict native as well as exotic or mythological animals, and personifications of the Seasons, Ocean, Earth and Wisdom. The Arab conquest of the Middle East in the 7th century did not break off the art of mosaic making.

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Arabs learned and accepted the craft as their own and carried on the classical tradition. During the Umayyad era Christianity retained its importance, churches were built and repaired and some of the most important mosaics of the Christian East were made during the 8th century when the region was under Islamic rule.

The perfectly preserved mosaic floor is the largest one in Jordan. On the central panel hunting and fishing scenes are depicted while another panel illustrates the most important cities of the region. The frame of the mosaic is especially decorative. Six mosaic masters signed the work: It overlays another, damaged, mosaic floor of the earlier "Church of Bishop Sergius.

The last great mosaics in Madaba were made in in the Church of the Virgin Mary discovered in It is a masterpiece of the geometric style with a Greek inscription in the central medallion. With the fall of the Umayyad dynasty in the Middle East went through deep cultural changes. No great mosaics were made after the end of the 8th century and the majority of churches gradually fell into disrepair and were eventually destroyed.

The tradition of mosaic making died out among the Christians and also in the Islamic community. The craft has also been popular in early medieval Rus , inherited as part of the Byzantine tradition. It was built mainly by Byzantine master craftsmen, sent by Constantine Monomachos , between and Naturally the more important surfaces in the interior were decorated with golden mosaics. In the dome we can see the traditional stern Pantokrator supported by angels. Between the 12 windows of the drum were apostles and the four evangelists on the pendentives.

The apse is dominated by an orant Theotokos with a Deesis in three medallions above. Below is a Communion of the Apostles. Prince Sviatopolk II built St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kiev in The mosaics of the church are undoubtedly works of Byzantine artists. Although the church was destroyed by Soviet authorities, majority of the panels were preserved. Small parts of ornamental mosaic decoration from the 12th century survived in the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Novgorod but this church was largely decorated with frescoes. Using mosaics and frescoes in the same building was a unique practice in Ukraine.

Harmony was achieved by using the same dominant colors in mosaic and fresco. Later Russian churches were decorated with frescoes, similarly then orthodox churches in the Balkan. The apse mosaic of the Gelati Monastery is a rare example of mosaic use in Georgia. Began by king David IV and completed by his son Demetrius I of Georgia , the fragmentary panel depicts Theotokos flanked by two archangels. The use of mosaic in Gelati attests to some Byzantine influence in the country and was a demonstration of the imperial ambition of the Bagrationids.

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The mosaic covered church could compete in magnificence with the churches of Constantinople. Gelati is one of few mosaic creations which survived in Georgia but fragments prove that the early churches of Pitsunda and Tsromi were also decorated with mosaic as well as other, lesser known sites. The destroyed 6th century mosaic floors in the Pitsunda Cathedral have been inspired by Roman prototypes. In Tsromi the tesserae are still visible on the walls of the 7th-century church but only faint lines hint at the original scheme.

Its central figure was Christ standing and displaying a scroll with Georgian text. Under Roman and Byzantine influence the Jews also decorated their synagogues with classical floor mosaics. Many interesting examples were discovered in Galilee and the Judean Desert. The remains of a 6th-century synagogue have been uncovered in Sepphoris , which was an important centre of Jewish culture between the 3rd—7th centuries and a multicultural town inhabited by Jews, Christians and pagans.

The mosaic reflects an interesting fusion of Jewish and pagan beliefs. In the center of the floor the zodiac wheel was depicted. Helios sits in the middle, in his sun chariot, and each zodiac is matched with a Jewish month. Along the sides of the mosaic are strips depicting Biblical scenes, such as the binding of Isaac , as well as traditional rituals, including a burnt sacrifice and the offering of fruits and grains. Another zodiac mosaic decorated the floor of the Beit Alfa synagogue which was built during the reign of Justin I — It is regarded one of the most important mosaics discovered in Israel.

Each of its three panels depicts a scene — the Holy Ark, the zodiac, and the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. In the center of the zodiac is Helios , the sun god, in his chariot. The four women in the corners of the mosaic represent the four seasons. A third superbly preserved zodiac mosaic was discovered in the Severus synagogue in the ancient resort town of Hammat Tiberias. In the center of the 4th-century mosaic the Sun god, Helios sits in his chariot holding the celestial sphere and a whip. Nine of the 12 signs of the zodiac survived intact. In , a synagogue was excavated in Jericho which was named Shalom Al Yisrael Synagogue after an inscription on its mosaic floor "Peace on Israel".

It appears to have been in use from the 5th to 8th centuries and contained a big mosaic on the floor with drawings of the Ark of the Covenant , the Menorah , a Shofar and a Lulav. Nearby in Naaran , there is another synagogue discovered in from the 6th century that also has a mosaic floor. The synagogue in Eshtemoa As-Samu was built around the 4th century.

The mosaic floor is decorated with only floral and geometric patterns. The synagogue in Khirbet Susiya excavated in —72, founded in the end of the 4th century has three mosaic panels, the eastern one depicting a Torah shrine, two menorahs , a lulav and an etrog with columns, deer and rams.

The Roman synagogue in Ein Gedi was remodeled in the Byzantine era and a more elaborate mosaic floor was laid down above the older white panels. The usual geometric design was enriched with birds in the center. It includes the names of the signs of the zodiac and important figures from the Jewish past but not their images suggesting that it served a rather conservative community. The ban on figurative depiction was not taken so seriously by the Jews living in Byzantine Gaza. In remains of a synagogue were found in the ancient harbour area.

Its mosaic floor depicts King David as Orpheus , identified by his name in Hebrew letters. Near him were lion cubs, a giraffe and a snake listening to him playing a lyre. A further portion of the floor was divided by medallions formed by vine leaves, each of which contains an animal: It is very similar to that of the synagogue at Maon Menois and the Christian church at Shellal , suggesting that the same artist most probably worked at all three places. The House of Leontius in Bet She'an excavated in —72 is a rare example of a synagogue which was part of an inn.

It was built in the Byzantine period. The colorful mosaic floor of the synagogue room had an outer stripe decorated with flowers and birds, around medallions with animals, created by vine trellises emerging from an amphora. The central medallion enclosed a menorah candelabrum beneath the word shalom peace. A 5th-century building in Huldah may be a Samaritan synagogue. Its mosaic floor contains typical Jewish symbols menorah, lulav, etrog but the inscriptions are Greek. Another Samaritan synagogue with a mosaic floor was located in Bet She'an excavated in The floor had only decorative motifs and an aedicule shrine with cultic symbols.

The ban on human or animal images was more strictly observed by the Samaritans than their Jewish neighbours in the same town see above. The mosaic was laid by the same masters who made the floor of the Beit Alfa synagogue. One of the inscriptions was written in Samaritan script. In , a synagogue of the 5th or 6th century was uncovered in the coastal Ionian town of Saranda , Albania.

It had exceptional mosaics depicting items associated with Jewish holidays, including a menorah, ram's horn, and lemon tree. Mosaics in the basilica of the synagogue show the facade of what resembles a Torah , animals, trees, and other biblical symbols. The structure measures 20 by 24 m. In South Arabia two mosaic works were excavated in a Qatabanian from the late 3rd century, those two plates formed geometric and grapevines formation reflecting the traditions of that culture.

In the Ghassanid era religious mosaic art flourished in their territory, so far five churches with mosaic were recorded from that era, two built by Ghassanid rulers and the other three by the Christian Arab community who wrote their names and dedications. Tilework had been known there for about two thousand years when cultural exchange between Sassanid Empire and Romans influenced Persian artists to create mosaic patterns. Shapur I decorated his palace with tile compositions depicting dancers, musicians, courtesans, etc.

This was the only significant example of figurative Persian mosaic, which became prohibited after Arab conquest and arrival of Islam.

Islamic architecture used mosaic technique to decorate religious buildings and palaces after the Muslim conquests of the eastern provinces of the Byzantine Empire. During the Umayyad Dynasty mosaic making remained a flourishing art form in Islamic culture and it is continued in the art of zellige and azulejo in various parts of the Arab world, although tile was to become the main Islamic form of wall decoration. The first great religious building of Islam , the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem , which was built between —, was decorated with glass mosaics both inside and outside, by craftsmen of the Byzantine tradition.

Only parts of the original interior decoration survive. The rich floral motifs follow Byzantine traditions, and are "Islamic only in the sense that the vocabulary is syncretic and does not include representation of men or animals. The most important early Islamic mosaic work is the decoration of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus , then capital of the Arab Caliphate. The mosque was built between and The caliph obtained skilled workers from the Byzantine Emperor to decorate the building. This is evidenced by the partly Byzantine style of the decoration.

The mosaics of the inner courtyard depict Paradise with beautiful trees, flowers and small hill towns and villages in the background. The mosaics include no human figures, which makes them different from the otherwise similar contemporary Byzantine works. The biggest continuous section survives under the western arcade of the courtyard, called the "Barada Panel" after the river Barada. It is thought that the mosque used to have the largest gold mosaic in the world, at over 4 m 2.

In a fire damaged the mosque extensively, and many mosaics were lost, although some have been restored since. The mosaics of the Umayyad Mosque gave inspiration to later Damascene mosaic works. The Dome of the Treasury, which stands in the mosque courtyard, is covered with fine mosaics, probably dating from 13th- or 14th-century restoration work.

The style of them are strikingly similar to the Barada Panel. The mausoleum of Sultan Baibars , Madrassa Zahiriyah , which was built after , is also decorated with a band of golden floral and architectural mosaics, running around inside the main prayer hall. Non-religious Umayyad mosaic works were mainly floor panels which decorated the palaces of the caliphs and other high-ranking officials. They were closely modeled after the mosaics of the Roman country villas, once common in the Eastern Mediterranean. The most superb example can be found in the bath house of Hisham's Palace , Palestine which was made around The main panel depicts a large tree and underneath it a lion attacking a deer right side and two deers peacefully grazing left side.

The panel probably represents good and bad governance. Mosaics with classical geometric motifs survived in the bath area of the 8th-century Umayyad palace complex in Anjar , Lebanon. The luxurious desert residence of Al-Walid II in Qasr al-Hallabat in present-day Jordan was also decorated with floor mosaics that show a high level of technical skill.

The best preserved panel at Hallabat is divided by a Tree of Life flanked by "good" animals on one side and "bad" animals on the other. Among the Hallabat representations are vine scrolls, grapes, pomegranates, oryx, wolves, hares, a leopard, pairs of partridges, fish, bulls, ostriches, rabbits, rams, goats, lions and a snake. At Qastal , near Amman , excavations in uncovered the earliest known Umayyad mosaics in present-day Jordan , dating probably from the caliphate of Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan — They cover much of the floor of a finely decorated building that probably served as the palace of a local governor.

The Qastal mosaics depict geometrical patterns, trees, animals, fruits and rosettes. Except for the open courtyard, entrance and staircases, the floors of the entire palace were covered in mosaics. Some of the best examples of later Islamic mosaics were produced in Moorish Spain. The golden mosaics in the mihrab and the central dome of the Great Mosque in Corduba have a decidedly Byzantine character. They were made between and by local craftsmen, supervised by a master mosaicist from Constantinople , who was sent by the Byzantine Emperor to the Umayyad Caliph of Spain.

The decoration is composed of colorful floral arabesques and wide bands of Arab calligraphy. The mosaics were purported to evoke the glamour of the Great Mosque in Damascus, which was lost for the Umayyad family. Mosaics generally went out of fashion in the Islamic world after the 8th century. Similar effects were achieved by the use of painted tilework, either geometric with small tiles, sometimes called mosaic, like the zillij of North Africa , or larger tiles painted with parts of a large decorative scheme Qashani in Persia, Turkey and further east. Louis , located in St. Another example of mosaics in ordinary surroundings is the use of locally themed mosaics in some restrooms in the rest areas along some Texas interstate highways.

Mosaics have developed into a popular craft and art, and are not limited to professionals. While ancient mosaics tended to be architectural, modern mosaics are found covering everything from park benches and flowerpots to guitars and bicycles. Items can be as small as an earring or as large as a house. In styles that owe as much to videogame pixel art and popculture as to traditional mosaic, street art has seen a novel reinvention and expansion of mosaic artwork.

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