Category Archive

Natural Seashell Mosaic on Flickr - vgenburgos

Mosaic wall of shells honduras on Flickr - hjselde

mosaic and shell fort bragg, california coast on Flickr - swirly

queetsy mosaic art opus sectile shell stone mosaic artist on Flickr - brooks_tower

intarsio panel palazzo massimo rome Nymph. mother of pearl inlayon Flickr - jmss

panel of Junius Bassus. Closeup of Hylas.mother of pearl inlay on Flickr - jmss

body by phil mosaic art opus sectile on Flickr - brooks_tower

mosaic niche with inlaid shells palazzo massimo rome on Flickr - jmss

neptune and amphitrite, originally uploaded by heavenuphere.

Shell Mosaic Getty Villa Malibu on Flickr - sfPhotocraft

Qasr Libya fish, sea urchin, sea monster, conch mosaics on Flickr - h_savill

flagler college, st. augustine scallop shell mosaic wall on Flickr - QwirkSilver

Mosaic Art - Tacoma, WA on Flickr - AlessandraHayden

Mosaic Sea Shell Tacoma, Washington on Flickr - AlessandraHayden

Mosaic Sea Shell on Flickr - AlessandraHayden

Installation Art - Maine Muscle mosaic on Flickr - abrazier

Shell Mosaic Grotto in the Residenz Munich, Germany on Flickr - earthmagnified

‘Ram in a Thicket’ mosaic covered london museum on Flickr - davideferro
From Ur, southern Iraq, about 2600-2400 BC. This is one of an almost identical pair discovered by Leonard Woolley in the ‘Great Death Pit’, one of the graves in the Royal Cemetery at Ur. The other is now in the University of Pennsylvania Museum in Philadelphia. It was named the ‘Ram in a Thicket’ by the excavator Leonard Woolley, who liked biblical allusions. In Genesis 22:13, God ordered Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac, but at the last moment ‘Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son’.

mosaic covered Ram Ur, S. Iraq, on Flickr - davideferro

The ‘ram’ is more accurately described as a goat, and he reaches up for the tastiest branches in a pose often adopted by goats. Goats and sheep in the Near East were among the earliest animals to be domesticated. They were an everyday feature of agricultural life and are regularly depicted by artists in many different ways. The figure had been crushed flat by the weight of the soil and the wooden core had perished. Wax was used to keep the pieces together as it was lifted from the ground, and it was then pressed back into shape. The ram’s head and legs are covered in gold leaf, its ears are copper (now green), its twisted horns and the fleece on its shoulders are of lapis lazuli, and its body fleece is made of shell. Its genitals are gold. The tree is covered in gold leaf, with golden flowers, the whole supported on a small rectangular base decorated with a mosaic of shell, red limestone and lapis lazuli. British museum, London.

Mosaic Commemorative Panel, Shell Grotto, Margate on Flickr - AllieW
The Shell Grotto in Margate is an amazing little place. According to their literature, there are 4.6 million shells there and 20000 square feet of mosaic. The leaflet elaborates further:
“In 1835, Mr James Newlove lowered his young son Joshua into a hole in the ground that had appeared during the digging of a duckpond. Joshua emerged describing tunnels covered with shells. He had discovered The Shell Grotto, a series of passages leading to a rectangular chamber, its walls decorated with strange symbols mosaiced in millions of shells. Is it an ancient pagan temple? A meeting place for some secret cult? Nobody can explain who built this amazing place, or why, but since its accidental discovery visitors from all over the world have been intrigued by the beautiful mosaic and the unsolved mystery”.

Florida Fragments on Flickr - Merrick Brown

Nymph/Venus on half shell Roman mosaic ruins on Flickr - littlemousling

Detail of Women’s Quarters Roof Mosaic on Flickr - glittergirrrl

Sea shell cottage mosaic train on Flickr - all biscuit

Mosaic from the House of the Faun, Pompeii on Flickr - Mirjam75

Shell Mosaic Duck Sculpture Cincinnati on Flickr - J. Star

Shell Eye mosaic birds on Flickr - J. Star

Mosaic birds on Flickr - J.Star

Swan Mosaic in the Grotto at Leeds 895 on Flickr - gardenchien

xofa mosaic, volta, ghana in rasta village on Flickr - raysto

Ivan visits? Jim hurrican shell mosaic on Flickr - GilaMosaics
Hurricane Ivan hit the Florida Gulf Coast in 2004. 2 weeks later, as I mused on this face, Jim called!!! His home had been in the storm’s path, so we were thrilled & relieved to hear from him! I immediatly grabbed my collection of shells & coral from his beach & well…you see what happened!

Watts Towers - mosaic with cockle-shells Los Angeles on Flickr - vmselde

Shell Whimsy Mosaic Art on Flickr - littlehuntermosaics

Sea urchin shells smalti & millefiori detail on Flickr - littleteapot

Love is all u really need Mosaic Florida on Flickr - newwavegurly