The art of mosaics is said to have developed in ancient Greece in the 8th century BC (this is where the oldest surviving mosaics have been found). At that time it was used to decorate floors and walkways and was made from small smooth pebbles of white, black and beige which the ancient Greeks collected from riverbeds.
The best destinations for mosaic hunters around the med are: Italy (Palermo, Piazza Armerina, Rome, Ravenna, Milan, Venice, and Naples), Turkey (Istanbul), Jordan (sites along the King's Highway), Syria (Damascus) and Egypt (St. Catherine's Monastery and the Sinai Peninsula). In many of these places a thriving modern day trade in small mosaic items exists, many produced exclusively for the tourist market, such as multicoloured ceramic jars, plates and tableware.
There are several museums around this area which have large collections of mosaics, such as the National Museum of Bardo in Tunis, Tunisia. The Museum of Bardo has 50 rooms and galleries highlighting Tunisia's mosaics and artefacts from its prehistoric, Punic, Roman, Christian and Islamic eras.
The technique of making a mosaic is very specific, the stones or tiles are placed on top of a flat surface, attached with a adhesive of some sort, and surrounded by something similar to tiling grout. They are not pressed into a surface as is the case with an inlay decoration. In ancient times, a skilled craftsman could probably only lay about 200 stones per hour in the intricate artistic designs - perhaps taking several months to complete an entire floor. Which is why mosaics became the mark of a wealthy household or a grand civic building.
Today modern artists such as Albanian Saimir Strati have brought mosaic art into the modern era. Though only a small number of materials were used to create the mosaics of antiquity, today it is only the vision of the artist which constrains them, as Strati has proven, making vast mosaics from such diverse materials as corks, nails and toothpicks.
The best destinations for mosaic hunters around the med are: Italy (Palermo, Piazza Armerina, Rome, Ravenna, Milan, Venice, and Naples), Turkey (Istanbul), Jordan (sites along the King's Highway), Syria (Damascus) and Egypt (St. Catherine's Monastery and the Sinai Peninsula). In many of these places a thriving modern day trade in small mosaic items exists, many produced exclusively for the tourist market, such as multicoloured ceramic jars, plates and tableware.
There are several museums around this area which have large collections of mosaics, such as the National Museum of Bardo in Tunis, Tunisia. The Museum of Bardo has 50 rooms and galleries highlighting Tunisia's mosaics and artefacts from its prehistoric, Punic, Roman, Christian and Islamic eras.
The technique of making a mosaic is very specific, the stones or tiles are placed on top of a flat surface, attached with a adhesive of some sort, and surrounded by something similar to tiling grout. They are not pressed into a surface as is the case with an inlay decoration. In ancient times, a skilled craftsman could probably only lay about 200 stones per hour in the intricate artistic designs - perhaps taking several months to complete an entire floor. Which is why mosaics became the mark of a wealthy household or a grand civic building.
Today modern artists such as Albanian Saimir Strati have brought mosaic art into the modern era. Though only a small number of materials were used to create the mosaics of antiquity, today it is only the vision of the artist which constrains them, as Strati has proven, making vast mosaics from such diverse materials as corks, nails and toothpicks.
