Mosaics of the Greek and Roman World
Cambridge University Press
Edition: New edition, 9/20/2001
EAN 9780521002301, ISBN10: 0521002303
Paperback, 414 pages, 27.9 x 21.6 x 2.3 cm
Language: English
This book provides a comprehensive account of mosaics in the ancient world from the early pebble mosaics of Greece to the pavements of Christian churches in the East. Separate chapters in Part I cover the principal regions of the Roman Empire in turn, in order to bring out the distinctive characteristics of their mosaic workshops. Questions of technique and production, of the role of mosaics in architecture, and of their social functions and implications are treated in Part II. The book discusses both well-known works and recent finds, and balances consideration of exceptional masterpieces against standard workshop production. Two main lines of approach are followed throughout: first, the role of mosaics as a significant art form, which over an unbroken span illuminates the evolution of pictorial style better than any comparable surviving medium; and secondly, their character as works of artisan production closely linked to their architectural context.
Introduction
Part I. Historical and Regional Development
1. Origins and pebble mosaics
2. The invention of tessellated mosaics
Hellenistic mosaics in the east
3. Hellenistic mosaics in Italy
4. Mosaics in Italy
Republican and Imperial
5. The north-western provinces
6. Britain
7. The North African provinces
8. Sicily under the Empire
Piazza Armerina
9. The Iberian peninsula
10. Syria and the east
11. Palestine and Transjordan
12. Greece
the Imperial period
13. Asia Minor, Cyprus, Constantinople
14. Wall and vault mosaics
15. Opus sectile
Part II. Technique and Production
16. Craftsmen and workshops
17. Techniques and procedures
18. The repertory
19. Architectural context and function
20. The patrons
Conclusions
Maps
Glossary of ornamental patterns
General glossary.
'This book is a masterpiece of visual, historical, technical and social analysis.' Peter Jones, The Sunday Telegraph