You are currently browsing the category archive for the 'mosaic floors' category.
Mosaic Art Source Flickr Group
We’ve started a new group & would like to invite you to join & share your favorite mosaic photos!
**Warning** - Any photo in this Flickr pool may be pulled up to the Mosaic Art Source sites, where it would be seen by a large group of the coolest mosaic art lovers in the world. ![]()

Detail of a mosaic from the House of the Faun, Pompeii « Mosaic Art Source

Colorful Cat Mosaic - National museum of Rome - mharrsch

Cat on Mosaic - johnthurm
A cat sits on a mosaic in the ruins of the gothic church next to the Khrysoplitissa Church in Paphos, Cyprus

Detail of a mosaic from the House of the Faun, Pompeii « Mosaic Art Source
Now at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples.
Mosaic floor detail of boy & kitty cat - Istanbul, Turkey - cercacielo
stray cat living in the ruins of Ephesus - pallas_marisa
Mosaic Kitty Cat, Greece « Mosaic Art Source

Mosaic Cat - Gato salvaje - church of apostles - madaba, jordan - copepodo


Famed Cave Canem - Mosaic dog - Pompeii, Italy - the cha

Mosaic of a Watch dog pompeii - mharrsch

mosaic dog - Pompeii, Italy - iNezy13
This mosaic is found at the house of Lucius Caecilius the second.

dolce far niente - tat2ntempe
Sleeping dog on mosaic floor, Pompeii, Italy

Beware the Dog - Naples Archaeological Museum - h_savill

Dog Mosaic at the Olearie Exhibit - Rome, Italy - christieannray
Deer & Dog & Duck Mosaic - Gaziantep Museum - Turkey - Aliza Rin

Dog mosaic, Bardo Museum, Tunis - cmccloskey56

Mosaic - Dog attacks wild Boar - Bardo Museum - Tunis, Tunisia - gareththomal79

Roman dog & hare mosaic Bardo museum Tunis - Harry Marmot

mosaic hare hunting - bardo museum - sallycat101

Mosaic Dogs Hunting - Roman Villa del Casale near Piazza Armerina, Sicily - Aidan McRae Thomson

Sicily Mosaic « Mosaic Art Source
detail of mosaic floor in an old roman villa centre of the island

Villa Piazza Armeria, Sicily, Italy « Mosaic Art Source
Roman Mosaic - Hunters’ sacrifice to Diana
The curved lines near the feet represent the dynamic moves of the bodies.

dogs mosic - Villa Romana del Casale - Piazza Armerina - Sicily, Italy - Big Dave1968

Mosaic Dog - British Museum Mosaic - listentoreason

Mosaics from Halicarnassus - british museum - london - mharrsch

London - British Museum - Mosaic of a Dog and a Boar Fighting - mindquake

dog mosaic hercules with pet - cerberus « Mosaic Art Source
‘Labours of Hercules house’ in Volubilis, near Meknes, Morocco

mosaic dog - sousse museum - tunisia - hrysman

mosaic dog - fetch! - berlin, germany, pergamon museum - drgillybean

Mosaic boy with puppy dog - Mosaics Museum. Istanbul, Turkey - iliana3012
Magnificent mosaics from the Palace of Constantine the Great.

Great Palace Mosaic Museum, Istanbul - Multitude

Mosaic Animals - Mosaic Dog Sculpture & Panels « Mosaic Art Source
Museum du Louvre, Denon, entresol, Egypte romaine, Salle A

Palermo - Sicilia - ari kokomosaico
Roman Mosaic found in the ruins of Herculaneum, Italy 1st century CE - mharrsch

Ancient mosaic found in excavations under the new Alexandria library - dlisbona
Dimensions: H 1.35m, W 1.35m
Material: Coloured marble and limestone cubes
Date: Hellenistic Period (2nd century B.C.)
Site: The New Library of Alexandria, Egypt
Fragment of a mosaic floor that bears a witness to the high artistic standard of the mosaic craftsmanship in Alexandria, especially these made for the Ptolemaic royal court during the Hellenistic period.The central part is in the form of a circle, surrounding a rare representation of a dog beside an inverted bronze Greek vessel (askos). The details of the scene and the reflection of light on the metal (bronze) are rendered with great artistic skill.The dog’s features are crafted with realism and delicate details. This artistic style is called “opus vermiculum”.
Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Arts & Musuems, Antiquities Museum, collection, Site of the BA
Specchiera Astratta mosaic mirror - Luigi Renzi

Specchiera mosaic mirror - Luigi Renzi

Specchiera Ovale mosaic bathroom mirror - Luigi Renzi

Tappeto Musivo mosaic floor insert - Luigi Renzi

Tavolo o Tappeto Musivo mosaic floor insert - Luigi Renzi

I miei lavori N#1 - Tavolo Musivo mosaic carpet floor insert - Luigi Renzi
Tappeto Musivo - mosaic carpet floor insert - Luigi Renzi
Mosaic Artist - Luigi Renzi - Priverno, Italy

mosaic stool on The Green, originally uploaded by little shiva.
Mosaic bench, Is it a pillow? on Flickr - by moxythecat

Multi colored mosaic seat by moxythecat

Yellow mosaic Bench on Flickr - by moxythecat

Black and White mosaic seat on Flickr - by moxythecat

Blue mosaic seat on Flickr - by moxythecat
The Green is a little park between Tryon and College down around first or second street in Uptown Charlotte. There are many little bits of public art in this little park including these five little mosaic benches or stools.

Galla Placidia Mausoleum on Flickr - by James Macdonald
The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia is a highly important Byzantine mausoleum in Ravenna, Italy. It is one of the eight structures in Ravenna that were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1996. As the UNESCO experts reasoned, “it is the earliest and best preserved of all mosaic monuments, and at the same time one of the most artistically perfect”.

mausoleum of Galla Placidia on Flickr - by saintpeg

Mausoleu de Gal·la Placídia, Ravenna on Flickr - by Sebastia Giralt
Built in 425-430 AD, the structure is designed in the shape of a Greek cross, and has a cupola that is entirely in mosaics, representing eight apostles and symbolical figures of doves drinking from a vessel. The other four apostles are represented on the vaults of the transverse arm; over the door is a representation of Jesus Christ as the Good Shepherd, young, beardless, with flowing hair, and surrounded by sheep; opposite, there is a subject that is interpreted as representing Saint Lawrence. Thin, translucent panels of stone admit light into the structure through the windows.

Galla Placidia Mausoleum, Ravenna on Flickr - by breic

galla placidia interior on Flickr - by designucdavis
The building contains three sarcophagi; the largest is said to have been that of Galla Placidia, and that her embalmed body was deposited there in a sitting position, clothed with the imperial mantle; in 1577, however, the contents of the sarcophagus were accidentally burned. The sarcophagus to the right is attributed to Emperor Valentinian III or to Galla Placidia’s brother, Emperor Honorius. The one on the left is attributed to Galla Placidia’s husband, Emperor Constantius III. In fact this building was the oratory of a wider church: the Holy Cross.
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Colours on Flickr - by James Macdonald

Mosaic Inside on Flickr - by pietroizzo
The inside is relatively small and extremely simple. The mausoleum was intended from the very start to be covered with mosaics, and these are the oldest in Ravenna. The eye is seduced by the brilliance of the colours, which mask the architecture and create an illusionistic effect.
Mausoleum of Galla Placidia - Ravenna, Italy - Great Buildings Online

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia on Flickr - by Rosy Hunt

Mosaics Stars Mausoleo di Galla Placidia Ravenna on Flickr - by blu_blue

Mausoleo di Galla Placidia on Flickr - by Arrigo Ceramista

Mosaic detail on Flickr - by vanalledag

Dettagli sottarco Mausoleo Galla Placidia on Flickr - by Arrigo Ceramista

Mosaic tiles on Flickr - by James Macdonald
Mosaic Art Source mosaic definition:
smalto (pl. smalti) - smalti is characterized by its dazzling range of brilliant opaque colors. Smalti is prepared by adding crystalline material (corpo) and coloured material (anima) to the colourless or coloured fused glass. Smalti is literally available in thousands of colors, is a very stable glass, easy to cut and very durable. m.a.s. mosaic glossary
Mosaic Art Source mosaic definition:
gold leaf tesserae (mosaic gold)
gold leaf tesserae (mosaic gold) - 24k gold-leaf tesserae are made up of a glass support layer (usually transparent, at times opaque red or coloured) less than one centimetre thick. The 24k gold metal leaf is then sandwiched between the support and a thin protective glass layer (the cartellina). In tesserae the colour shade is determined by the purity of the metal, the thickness of the leaf, the colour, if any, of the cartellina and of the support. m.a.s.mosaic glossary

Nature & Geometry, originally uploaded by pietroizzo.

Casa Grande, originally uploaded by hbomb1947.
Where is the Hearst Castle?
Hearst Castle was the palatial estate of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. It is located near San Simeon, California, on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Donated by the Hearst Corporation to the state of California in 1957, it is now a State Historical Monument and a National Historic Landmark, open for public tours. Hearst formally named the estate ‘La Cuesta Encantada’ (’The Enchanted Hill’), but he usually just called it ‘the ranch’.
Hearst Castle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hearst Castle Roman Pool Mosaics on Flickr - by patacancha
The Casa Grande Roman Pool
The pool appears to be styled after an ancient Roman bath such as the Baths of Caracalla in Rome c. 211-17 AD. The mosaic tiled patterns were inspired by mosaics found in the 5th Century Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy. They are also representative of traditional marine monster themes that can be found in ancient Roman baths.

The Roman Pool Hearst Castle on Flickr - by eye_fish
The Roman Pool is decorated from ceiling to floor with 1″ square mosaic tiles. These glass tiles, called smalti, are either colored (mainly blue or orange) or are clear with fused gold inside. The intense colors and shimmering gold of the tiles combine to create a breathtaking effect. The designs created by the tiles were developed by muralist Camille Solon.

Hearst pool bottom mosaic detail on Flickr - by vikram_muthanna

Bottom of the indoor pool mosaic detail on Flickr - by SFAntti

Hearst Castle Pool bottom mosaic detail on Flickr - Rock and Racehorses

Hearst Castle Roman Pool mosaics on Flickr - by Sandra Leidholdt

Mosaic wall & floor detail on Flickr - by Stellae et Luna
Mosaic Design Inspiration
The inspiration for some of these designs came from the 5th Century Mausoleum of Galla Placidia. Hearst was affected by the beauty of the mosaics in the mausoleum and incorporated similar styles into his Roman Pool. The walls of the mausoleum are marble but the vaulted arches are composed of blue and gold smalti. The roofs and dome are covered with mosaics of night blue, powdered with stars. The Roman Pool is similar to the mausoleum with its blue and gold color scheme and stylized star patterns. It differs because marble was only used in the statues, not on the walls, and their are no religious murals.
The Roman Pool at Hearst Castle

Hearst Castle wall mosaic detail on Flickr - by Rock and Racehorses

Hearst Castle Mosaic floor detail on Flickr - by Isalcedo

Mosaic Floor Tile Detail. on Flickr - by blisseau

Roman Crab mosaic floor detail on Flickr - by Stellae et Luna

Mosaic Gold tesserae texture detail on Flickr - by klabhead
Mosaic Art Source mosaic definition:
gold leaf tesserae (mosaic gold)
gold leaf tesserae (mosaic gold) - 24k gold-leaf tesserae are made up of a glass support layer (usually transparent, at times opaque red or coloured) less than one centimetre thick. The 24k gold metal leaf is then sandwiched between the support and a thin protective glass layer (the cartellina). In tesserae the colour shade is determined by the purity of the metal, the thickness of the leaf, the colour, if any, of the cartellina and of the support. m.a.s.mosaic glossary

brighton beach mosaic on Flickr - by zillah
London-by-the-Sea?
A major tourist attraction is Brighton’s pebble beach, which has a variety of bars, restaurants, night clubs and amusement arcades. Together with the attractions further inland, these contribute to Brighton being sometimes referred to as “London-by-the-sea”; it certainly offers one of the most accessible tourist beaches from London.
Brighton beach has a designated official nudist area (south of the easterly part of Kemptown). This is unusual in that very few naturist beaches in the United Kingdom are located within urban areas.
Brighton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blue Path, originally uploaded by Dancing Fish.

Brighton Mosaic Eyes on Flickr - by airsine

Bromptons Opticians, Gardner Street, North Laine on Flickr - by Bus Stop
Where is Brighton and Hove?
Brighton is located on the south coast of England, and together with its immediate neighbour Hove forms the city of Brighton and Hove. Brighton is one of the largest and most famous seaside resorts in the United Kingdom.
Brighton - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

mosaic glasses tile on Flickr - by chillicheese

Glasses mosaic in doorway Gardner Street on Flickr - by Bus Stop

Glasses mosaic Bromptons Opticians on Flickr - by Bus Stop

Glasses mosaic doorway Bromptons Opticians on Flickr - by Bus Stop

Basílica de Carranque 2, originally uploaded by stavlokratz.
Where is Carranque?
Carranque is a town in the Toledo province, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is located in the Alta Sagra area of the province bordering the province of Madrid.
Carranque contains a Roman site protected as an archeological park by the Castile-La Mancha government. It is located by river Guadarrama, near a Roman road. It seems to be near the lost city of Titultiam. There are three main buildings, the ruins of a Roman mill and a modern interpretation building. The buildings date from the late 4th century and are thought to be related to the Hispania-born emperor Theodosius I.

carranque mosaico on Flickr - by themy2004
In 1983 a local peasant, Samuel López Iglesias, found a series of mosaics while plowing in the fields known as las Suertes de Abajo. These mosaics belong to the so-named Villa of Maternus. The interpretation facility exhibits objects found during the excavations. Carranque - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Océano on Flickr - by stavlokratz
In the Dining Hall a tilted floor formed a semicircular fountain with a mosaic of the god Oceanus, featuring crab antennas, claws and a wavy beard.
In the Greek and Roman world-view, Oceanus (Greek Ὠκεανός, Okeanos), was the world-ocean, which they believed to be an enormous river encircling the world. Strictly speaking, Okeanos was the ocean-stream at the Equator in which floated the habitable hemisphere (oikoumene).[1] In Greek mythology, this world-ocean was personified as a Titan, a son of Uranus and Gaia. In Hellenistic and Roman mosaics, this Titan was often depicted as having the upper body of a muscular man with a long beard and horns, and the lower torso of a serpent (cf. Typhon). On a fragmentary archaic vessel (British Museum 1971.11-1.1) of ca 580 BCE, among the gods arriving at the wedding of Peleus and the sea-nymph Thetis, is a fish-tailed Oceanus, with a fish in one hand and a serpent in the other, gifts of bounty and prophecy. In Roman mosaics he might carry a steering-oar and cradle a ship. Oceanus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Briseis and Achilles mosaic- Wikipedia
The Ulysses giving Briseis back to Achilles mosaic above was also found in the dining room & depicts the return of the slave Briseis to Achilles as narrated in the Iliad.
What Iliad?
The Iliad (Ancient Greek Ἰλιάς, Ilias) is, together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer, a supposedly blind Ionian poet. The epics are considered by most modern scholars to be the oldest literature in the Greek language (though some believe that the works of the poet Hesiod were composed earlier, a belief that was also held by some classical Greeks).

Aquiles from Ulysses giving Briseis back to Achilles on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
The first word of the Iliad is μῆνιν (mēnin), “rage” or “wrath”. This word announces the major theme of the Iliad: the wrath of Achilles.

Briseida from Ulysses giving Briseis back to Achilles on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
When Agamemnon, the commander of the Greek forces at Troy, dishonors Achilles by taking Briseis, a slave woman given to Achilles as a prize of war, Achilles becomes enraged, and withdraws from the fighting. Without Achilles’ prowess in battle, the Greeks are nearly defeated by the Trojans. Achilles re-enters the fighting when his dearest friend Patroclus is killed by the Trojan prince Hector. Achilles slaughters many Trojans, and kills Hector. In his rage he then refuses to return Hector’s body and instead defiles it. Priam, the father of Hector, ransoms his son’s body, and the Iliad ends with the funeral of Hector.
Of the many themes in the Iliad, perhaps the most important is the idea of moral choice. Achilles believes he has two options: he can either live a long, unremarkable life at home or else he can die young and gloriously as a mercenary warrior. Military adventuring (that is, pillage and plunder) was a way of life in pre-Homeric times, and the many ruins of thick-walled cities and fortresses in the region give silent testimony to the fear that must have characterized life in the ancient world.
For some men, military adventuring is a more attractive choice than staying home on the farm. Death in battle leads to honor and glory—timae and kleos—which were important values of the day — more important than even right and wrong. One of the remarkable things about the Iliad is the way that Achilles, especially in Book 9, both embraces concepts of honor and glory and also rejects them. It should be noted that, despite the fact that he is the antagonist in the story, Hector probably best displays the qualities of an ancient Mediterranean hero. Many Greek myths exist in multiple versions, so Homer had some freedom to choose among them to suit his story. Iliad - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

mosaico on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

mosaico on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Píramo y Tisbe at Villa of Maternus - Carranque, Spain on Flickr - by stavlokratz
This mosaic is found in the sleeping room of the 4th century Roman Villa of Maternus - Carranque, Spain
Mosaic Art Source Archives - more mosaics from the Villa Maternus - Carranque, Spain
The love story of Pyramus and Thisbe, not really apart of Roman mythology, is actually a sentimental romance. It is recounted by Hyginus (Fabulae 242) but is better told by Ovid(Metamorphoses 4). Pyramus and Thisbe - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thisbe and Pyramus with Typo paphos, cyprus on Flickr - by Ken and Nyetta
This mosaic at Paphos, Cyprus is particularly interesting because it depicts a rare (and enormous) “typo.” This is supposed to be a mosaic of the story of Thisbe and Pyramos — the story written down by Ovid from which Shakespeare adapted Romeo and Juliet and the story that appears as a sub-plot in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
In the legend, Thisbe and Pyramos are youths in Babylon whose parents dislike each other but who fall in love by talking through a crack in the wall between their homes. This mosaic is supposed to depict their fateful meeting that results in their double-suicide.
The problem with this mosaic is that rather than showing the Pyramos who committed suicide when he thought Thisbe had been eaten by a great cat (a leopard in this mosaic), the artist put in the river god Pyramos with his seaweed hair and horn of plenty. The mosaic artist probably did not know the story and was just working from a book of standard themes — and chose the wrong Pyramos to draw!
For a bit of fun check this out - Pyramus and Thisbe performed by The Beatles
Worchester College Oxford - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Worcester College
Worcester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Its predecessor was an institution of learning since the late thirteenth century, even though the current college was founded only in the eighteenth century.
Worcester College, Oxford - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Saints from the mosaic floor of Worcester College’s chapel c.1791

St Augustine on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
St Augustine (or Austin) is here shown writing one of his famous texts, possibly the ‘Confessions’.

St Jerome on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
St Jerome translated the Bible in Latin. His work is called the Vulgate. He is shown here in cardinal’s robes and in the work of translation, or perhaps writing one of his Scripture commentaries.

St Ambrose on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
St. Ambrose was believed to have composed the ‘Te Deum laudamus’, an earlyChristian hymn of praise, hence he is shown here in the act of writingit.

St Gregory the Great on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
St. Gregory - This Pope was responsible for the codification of plainsong, hence the name ‘Gregorian chant’. The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove sits on his shoulder, dictating the sacred song to him.

Christ the Divine Sower, originally uploaded by Lawrence OP.
Mosaic floor from Worcester College’s chapel. This comes from the footpace in front of the Altar. The floor is entirely covered in mosaic with charming depictions of the saints.

Glimpse of Petra Treasury on Flickr - by charlietyack
Where is Petra?
Petra is a spectacular ancient Nabataean city in western Jordan. With massive façades that have been carved entirely out of the existing red sandstone, Petra’s magnificent temples and tombs are like no other religious buildings in the world, and the surrounding rugged landscape dotted with historical sites are a hiker’s paradise.
Petra has been a city of great religious significance both in ancient times and today. First, it has a number of connections with the Old Testament: the nearby Ain Mousa (Spring of Moses) is believed to be where Moses struck a rock with his staff to extract water and Aaron is said to have died in the Petra area and been buried on what is today the sacred site atop Jabal Haroun (Mount Aaron). Later, the city built by the Nabataeans was packed with tombs, temples, sanctuaries and altars to their gods. And in its last years, Petra was the home of several Byzantine churches.
Petra, Jordan - Sacred Destinations Travel Guide

Petra church mosaic floor on Flickr - by fee6ee
Amidst Petra’s ancient temples is a Byzantine church dating from the 5th and 6th centuries. Still being excavated, Petra Church contains some extraordinary mosaics.

Detail of the Petra church mosaics on Flickr - by fee6ee
The Petra Church seems to have first been built over Nabataean and Roman remains around 450 AD. It may have been a major 5th- and 6th-century cathedral, which is intriguing given the other evidence of Petra’s decline after a 363 AD earthquake.

Petra church mosaic detail on Flickr - by anilegna

Petra church mosaic detail on Flickr - by anilegna

mosaic floor detail on Flickr - by anilegna
How old are the mosaics of Petra?
When first constructed around 450, the church had only one apse and an entrance porch. The Mosaic of the Seasons in the southern aisle is from this period. In 500-50 AD, the church was remodeled. Two side apses were installed and the two-story atrium built. The nave was paved and the chancel screens, a pulpit, and wall mosaics were installed, as were the mosaics of the northern aisle and the eastern end of the southern aisle.

petra_church_deer_mosaic on Flickr - by taijibasset
Each of the side aisles of Petra Church is paved with 70 square meters of remarkably preserved mosaics, depicting native as well as exotic or mythological animals, as well as personifications of the Seasons, Ocean, Earth and Wisdom. Also surviving are significant remains of the nave’s paving in marble and stone in geometric designs.

Mosaic Interpretation on Flickr - Photo Sharing!, by www.h4ppy.com.
La Pompeya del Este, Jerash, Jordan on Flickr - by kissss
Where is Jerash?
Located some 48 km (30 miles) north of the capital Amman, Jerash is known for the ruins of the Greco-Roman city of Gerasa, also referred to as Antioch on the Golden River. It is sometimes misleadingly referred to as the “Pompeii of the Middle East”, referring to its size, extent of excavation and level of preservation (though Jerash was never buried by a volcano).
Jerash became an urban center during the 3rd century BC and a member of the federation of Greek cities known as the Decapolis (”ten cities” in Greek). Jerash prospered during the 1st century BC as a result of its position on the incense and spice trade route from the Arabian Peninsula to Syria and the Mediterranean region. Jerash was a favorite city of the Roman emporer, Hadrian, and reached its zenith in AD 130, flourishing economically and socially. The city began to decline in the 3rd century, later becoming a Christian city under the rule of the Byzantine empire. The Muslims took over in AD 635, but the final blow to the city was dealt by Baldwin II of Jerusalem in AD 1112 during the Crusades.
Modern Jerash sprawls to the east of the ruins, sharing the same city wall but little else. Thankfully, the ruins have been carefully preserved and spared from encroachment.
Jerash travel guide - Wikitravel
Liz photographs the mosaics in Jerash on Flickr - by charlietyack
How old are the Mosaics of Jerash?
From AD 350, a large Christian community lived in Jerash, and between AD 400-600, more than thirteen churches were built, many with superb mosaic floors. A cathedral was built in the fourth century A.D. An ancient synagogue with detailed mosaics, including the story of Noah, was found beneath a church.
Jerash - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jerash Mosaic Ruins on Flickr - Liz Bartlett

Mosaic in Jerash on Flickr - by charlietyack





























