III.

Pre-Christian Mosaics

Mesopotamia, in the 4th-3rd millennium bc, developed a type of mosaic composed of slender cones of baked clay with some base ends painted red, black, and white. These were embedded in mud brick walls to create a decorative protective coating in geometric patterns, perhaps derived from textile or matting materials. A large section of a Sumerian wall of half-columns (early 3rd millennium bc) from Erech (Uruk), decorated with these patterns, is preserved in the Staatliche Museen, West Berlin. See Mesopotamian Art and Architecture.

In Crete (Kríti) and on the Greek mainland in the Bronze Age (1600-1000 bc), water-worn pebbles were used to decorate floors. Pebble mosaic floors have been discovered throughout the Hellenic Greek world from the 6th to the 4th century bc, with notable examples in Athens, Corinth, Delphi, Olympia, Olynthus, Pella, Assus, and Tarsus. The polychrome pebble mosaics of about 300 bc at Pella in Macedonia are excellent examples of the use of subtle variations of color in water-polished stones to create beautiful figural compositions, often of light figures against a dark background, with outlines in either lead or ceramic strips.

Before the end of the 3rd century bc, pebbles were in large part replaced with tesserae cut from stone and sometimes from glass. The smooth surfaces of cut cubes proved able to withstand wear and tear and also allowed the artisans to carry out designs in greater detail. The cubes could be cut to small size and packed closely together to create incredible detail, including realistic renditions of naturalistic scenes with human figures, animals, plants, and landscapes. See Greek Art and Architecture.

Mosaics from Pompeii show the introduction of Hellenistic mosaics in Italy. Polychrome scenes of the late 2nd and early 1st centuries bc are among the earliest mosaics at Pompeii. The famous Alexander mosaic from the House of the Faun depicts the Battle of Issus and is thought to be a copy of a lost Hellenistic painting of the 4th century bc; the mosaic, however, was most probably executed in the 1st century bc. The mosaics from Antioch (modern Antakya in Turkey) on the Orontes River date from the late 2nd into the 6th century ad . They show a predilection for polychrome figural mosaics. Mythological scenes are depicted with great realism in brilliant colors, including a Judgment of Paris, Narcissus, and the Labors of Hercules.See Roman Art and Architecture.