WHAT IS THE MOSAIC?

A technique of decoration used mainly on floors or walls involving the setting of small colored fragments of stone, tile, mineral, shell, or glass, each called a tessera (plural tesserae), in a cement or adhesive matrix. Mosaic also refers to a tesselated area, often of complex designs and, possibly, inscriptions. Mosaic floors were made from small squares, triangles, or other regular shapes up to 2 cm (1 inch) in size. They were laid in cement to form designs, figures of animals, or classical figures representing the seasons, etc. Old limestone would be used for white and various reds, browns, or grays from baked clays were used. Glass, too, was sometimes incorporated. The earliest known mosaics date from the 8th century bc and are made of pebbles, a technique refined by Greek craftsmen in the 5th century bc. Greek mosaics were simple pebble floors and then became more complex and sophisticated under Macedonian kings. Mosaics are known from Pompeii, Rome, Tivoli, Aquileia, and Ostia – as well as Africa, Antioch, Sicily, and Britain. Under the Roman Empire, the achievements of the 5th to 6th-century Byzantine artists at Ravenna are impressive. An excellent collection of mosaics from Pompeii may be seen in the Mueo Nazionale at Naples, and a good selection of Imperial Roman provincial work may be seen at the Museum of Le Bardo, outside modern Tunis, Tunisia. Pre-Columbian American Indians favored mosaics of semiprecious stones such as garnet and turquoise and mother-ofpearl. These were normally used to encrust small objects such as shields, masks, and cult statues. Mosaic as an art form has most in common with painting. It represents a design or image in two dimensions. It is also, like painting, a technique appropriate to large-scale surface decoration. [mosaic work]

WHAT IS THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD?

Period of the widest Greek influence, the era between the death of Alexander the Great (323 bc) and the rise of the Roman Empire (27/30 bc), when a single, uniform civilization, based on Greek traditions, prevailed all over the ancient world, from India in the east, to Spain in the west. During these three centuries, Greek culture crossed many political frontiers and spread through many cities founded at that time, especially the new capitals of Alexandria, Antioch, and Pergamum. A common civilization became established throughout the known world for the first time, one which integrated the cultural heritage of each region and subsequently left a deep impression on the institutions, thought, religions, and art of the Roman, Parthian, and Kushan Empires. The Hellenistic cultural influence continued to be a powerful force in the Roman and Parthian Empires during the early centuries ad.

WHAT IS THE HADRA WARE?

A kind of Hellenistic pottery first found in the Hadra cemetery at Alexandria. It was a burial container inscribed with the name of the deceased and often the date painted or incised on the shoulder.

WHAT IS THE GNATHIAN WARE?

A pottery fabric of the Hellenistic period (4th to 3rd centuries bc) in southern Italy. Produced originally at Apulia, the pots are decorated with a black-glossed technique with simple designs in yellow and white. It is the western equivalent of West Slope ware. It is unlike other south Italian pottery and was widely exported.

WHAT IS THE BLACK GLAZED ?

BLACK GLAZED: A style of pottery decoration in which plain wares were given a black sheen, which continued well into the Hellenistic period – especially in Athens from the 6th to 2nd centuries bc. These wares were often made alongside figure-decorated pottery and, from the 5th century bc, the shapes were frequently of stamped decoration. In the 4th century bc, rouletting was also used. [black-glossed]