BRIEF HISTORICAL ESSAY 
 
 ON 
 
 THE ART OF MOSAIC. 
 
 The word Mosaic, in its most extended sense, may be employed to designate every combination of 
 minute portions of any mEiterial, which can, by the connexion of parts in themselves inexpressive, be so arranged as to 
 convey a feeling of unity, or of variety of design ; the expression, thus understood, is susceptible of a very extensive 
 apphcation, and may especially be rendered subservient to the various purposes of architectural and artistic decoration. 
 
 In a less extensive sense, the art of workitig in mosaic is limited to the emplopnent and arrangement of stones, 
 marbles, and vitrified substances. Through the union of these ingredients it has, in former ages, found its most graceful 
 embodiment; ainl it is under this aspect that we propose to enter upon a brief consideration of its past existence,- — 
 endeavouring to trace, as far as possible, any relation that may have obtained between tlie several forms it 
 assumed at various periods, whether pictorial or conventional, — and tlie peculiar phase of architecture with which it has 
 probably been associated. In this pursuit, we trust that our earnest though feeble endeavours will prove not alto- 
 gether useless in aiding or in regulating the theory and practice of some who, in these days of revival and progress, 
 may be anxious to recall to a fresh and vigorous existence a time-honoured and ingenious, though long neglected 
 element in structural cmbcllisliment. 
 
 The three leading divisions— the Ancient, the Mcd'mval, and the Modern — into whicli general students arc 
 wont to separate the study of History, furnish a skeleton framework on which we may hang our " slireds and 
 patches" of information most advantageously; since the principal changes that have occurred in the composition and 
 application of Mosaic, assume their peculiar forms at the very points of time which mark the transition intervals 
 between these several liistoric periods. 
 
 Arranging our subject, then, under these three leading heads, we shall assume the Ancient art of Mosaic to 
 have been that practised by the great artists of antiquity, from the earhest ages down to the period of Constantine 
 the Great, (A.n. 320) ; the second, or Mediccval, we shall descrilie as obtaining from the general adoption of Christian 
 worship, to the revival of classical learning ui the fifteenth century ; and the third, or Modeiii style, may be considered 
 to include all the varieties of incrustation which have been employed ui public or private works, from the days of 
 Raphael and Michael Angelo to the present time. 
 
 Firstly, then, with regard to the most ancient process of Mosaic, — we find that considerable mysterj- hangs over the 
 earher stages of its development. From the character of many of the painted Egyptian ornaments, and from the actual 
 existence of many of their pecnhar little amulets, in which stones and vitreous pastes are combined t(] produce 
 cliequcrcd and striated effects, we must conchidc fhat the art, in its minor form at least, was known to, and cultivated 
 
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 by, tliat accomi)lishca tuition; but being, n.t tlie same time, oljliged to coiitl-ss that none of tlif Egyptian Mosaics we, 
 at least, have had any opportunity of examinhig, exhibit the appearance of extreme antiquity, we infer tliat tlie art 
 was not indigenous in Africa, but only imported thither from Greece or Italy, toward tlie Ptolemaic era. 
 
 That incrusted flooring waa known to the Persians in the days of Ahasuerus, we have direct testimony in the 
 sixth verse of the first chapter of Esther, where it ia mentioned, as an instance of the luxurious ma^Jiificence of the 
 Royal palace of Shushan, that "the beds (couches) were of gold and silvei-, upon a pavement of red, and blue and 
 white marble." As to the nature of either the construction or design of this most ancient Mosaic, nothing now remains 
 to impart information. 
 
 We may reasonably ini'er that, if not pre-existent in Greece, the practice may have been imported into that country 
 through the many Persian invasions, and that spoils taken from the invaders in war may liave conveyed to their 
 conquerors important lessons in the arts of peace. 
 
 The veteran Miiller, in his " Archjeologie der Kunst," gives tlie most succinct account of Mosaic as practised l.iy the 
 Greeks, but wc shall rather refer to the learned and clear notices collected by the Padre ReccliI, and pulilished by hiin 
 in the introduction to his " Musaico Antoniano dcscritto e Ulustrato," (Rome, 1843). The worthy father tells us, that 
 in the days of Alexander of Macedon, tlic luxury of pavements formed of various coloui-ed marbles prevailed generally 
 and extensively throughout Greece, and that the ornamentation bestowed on the ground frequently excelled that lavished 
 on the walls and ceilings. He quotes Athenaius, who mentions that the ship of Geron contained a Mosaic, foi-med of 
 " many stones in small fragments," (ek waurolw Xiewv »j3aKi<TKoi^), which exhilMted a representation of the whole stoiy 
 of the Iliad. He refers also to Claudius Galcnus, who relates that Diogenes, the Cynic, ha\-ing entered into a private 
 dwelling, adorned with a pavement of the finest work, on i\'hich were figured all the CHympian deities, turning round, 
 spat in the face of Ids noble liost, comforting him at the same time Avith tlie compliment, that it was tiie least noble 
 spot he could select in his whole liouse. The terms XiOo^rp^ro,, (used hy Hcsiod and Sophocles), and \lB,.\oy„it«, 
 (employed by Xenophon in the Ciropedia), appear the original appellations for Mosaic, since the words ,iov<fHwu and 
 /wv^wofjic belong only to a late period, and may almost be deemed barbarous Greek. Pliny makes mention of several 
 artists of celebrity, especially of Sosos, a mosaic worker of Pergaraos, several of whose marvellous productions he 
 describes. It is probable, however, that scarcely any spechnens of pure Greek art have descended intact to our day ; and 
 the enthi^iastic admiration expressed by Eoman authors of the labours of the Greeks in such works of ingenuity greatly 
 enhances their loss. In the year 1763, A.D., a Mosaic was found in a villa near Pompeii, (probably that of the Emperor 
 Claudius), representing three masqued females playing on musical instruments: although inscribed " Dioscorides of 
 Samos," in Greek characters, we cannot but fear that the inscription indicates not the actual artist, but merely the 
 original inventor of the design. 
 
 Since the foolish prejudice that Grecian architecture must necessarily be plain, colourless, and unadorned— 
 because to our eyes shorn, by time and other causes, of the ornamental adjuncts which were wont to accompany 
 its perfect development— has happily passed away, we may now readily conceive how wiUingly the Greek architects 
 would have added to the graces of their designs the elegant art of which we are now treating. Their fondness for 
 the union of gold, ebony, ivory, bronze, in Toreutic and Chryselephantine work, exhibits their tendency to the Mosaic 
 process; and several of the more recently discovered polychromatic patterns wliich liave adorned their temples demon- 
 strate liow fully they appreciated, and how readily tliey adopted the ever fresh and vaiying arrangement of rectangular 
 forms, suggested by the combination of the simpler geometric tessera;. 
 
 In approaching the subject of Roman Mosaic, we cannot avoid pausing to remark liow strong a corrolwration 
 Victor Hugo's fine observation, that the "histoiy of every great country is inscribed upon its monuments," receives 
 from the extreme popularity this art attained among a people whose thoughts, mythology, social habits, and systems of 
 ]i!iilosophy, exhibited only one vast Mosaic, made up of precious fragments from the East and from the West, put 
 
togetlier, iirraiiged, and maintained in a magnificent and imposing tbrm, hy nativi? ability, on tlieir grand system of faith 
 in t!ie advantages of compact and indissoluble union. 
 
 The first authentic account to be found of the appearance of the " Opus Musivum" in the eternal City, is that 
 given us by Pliny, who states Scylla to have been the tirst Roman who caused to be produced any specimens of the 
 " opus iitliostrotum," (literallj', stone-laid ^vork) ; and according to his and many other sources of evidence, we may be 
 justified ui assuming the date of its introduction to have been about eighty years before Christ. 
 
 Furictti, the most learned and elaborate writer on the subject, frames an ingenious theory as to the Greek origin of 
 Mosaic-Avork in Rome : he supposes that many spoils brought from Greece, and deposited in tlie temple of Jupiter 
 Capitolinus, may have been adopted as decorations, and thus prefigured ideas from which the Roman artists would 
 doubtless derive important practical lessons ; which, creating in the minds of the ostentatious and magnificent patri- 
 cians an anxiety for the possession of other luxurious embellishments, would thus introduce to them Mosaic. 
 
 This tlicory receives corroboration in several ways :— firstly, from the fact, that Pliny has described the pavement of 
 this temple of Jupiter as one of the earliest and most beautiful of its kind ; secondly, in that the period of the introduction 
 of the art into Rome corresponds with the destruction of Corinth, and the victories of the Consul Mummius, when great 
 and precious spoils arc recorded to have been brought into the city ; and thirdly, from the circumstance that the inscriptions 
 on the celebrated Barberini Mosaic, still preser\'ed in nearly its original position in the Temple of Fortune at Palestrina, (the 
 ancient Prseneste), and Imown to have been placed there by Scylla, to atone for his former cruelty in the destruction of 
 the town and slaughter of its inhabitants, are entirely written in Greek characters. 
 
 A strong proof of the rapidity mth which the art was appropriated by the Romans, and naturaUzed in their soil, 
 may he. found in their almost immediate formation of a vocabulary to express all the varieties and manufacturing 
 details of its process of formation. The endeavour to attach a clear and definite meaning to all the terms (thus introduced) 
 has long been a favourite subject of debate among the Vitruvian commentators; and the attempt to distmguish mth 
 tolerable accuracy between the conditions of all the modes of fabrication employed in the decoration of the public and private 
 buildings of Rome, though often made, has not as yet, in any one instance, been crowned with perfect and complete 
 success. The learned and enthusiastic Ciampini, in his invaluable " Vetera monumenta. in quibus pnuclpue Musiva 
 opera illustrantur," has perhaps approached an intelligible explanation more nearly than any other antiquaiy : we shall 
 tiierefore, in our endeavour to convey some idea of the pecidiarities of each species of Ronian mosaic, adopt, as far as 
 possible, his analysis of the subject. 
 
 lie divides the art into four jjrincipal sections, nnmelj^ — 
 
 J. TfiSSELATrSI, 1 
 
 ,- applied to pavements generally. 
 JI. Sec'tile, j 
 
 III. FiGLINUM, "1 
 
 C usually apjilied to walls and vaults. 
 
 IV. Vkhmictt.atum,) 
 
 Of tlicse, the first, the " Ojm.^ Tesseiatum," is probably the most ancient. It consisted of small cubes of marble, 
 seldom avci-aging more tiian three-quartei's of an inch square, saAvn or ^vorked liy iiand into sucli simple geometrical 
 figures as, when combuied, would best compose a figure, equally geometrical, but of course characterised by a greater 
 degree of intricacy. The ornament, generally called the Greek fret, was one constantly worked out in this material ; and 
 various gracefiil combinations of square and circular lines are of frequent recurrence. The small cubes were called 
 tessera'. It is probable that the first colours employed were chiefly black and ^vhite, and tliat the general introduction 
 of red, blue, and yellow, was subsequent to the invention of the Opus Fighnum. The best examples of the "Opus 
 Tesselatum" occur at Pompeii, in the Sala of the Kuovo Braccio in the "\'atican, and in the Baths of Garaealla; many 
 veiy fine specimens have also been found in this country. Tesscroj are but rarely found on walls, excepting when thej- 
 
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 are adopted to fomi flat tints of uniform colour, as in the large black and white Mosaics which have fallen from the 
 vaults of the Baths, and some other buildings, at Rome. 
 
 Our second variety, the " Opus Sectile," was formed (as its name imports) of " Sectilia," which Ciampini describes as 
 " the different crusta (or slices) of marble, of which figures and ornaments were made." With this detinition we must 
 not, however, rest quite contented, since the testimony of Yitruvius, corroborated by the judgment of Furictti and his 
 most learned commentators, leads us to quite a contrary conclusion. According to them, it would appear to have l)cen 
 composed, not of little cubes like Tesselatum, but of large thin slices of marble — never imitating the forms of actual 
 subjects, as Ciampini would infer, but producing a pleasing effect solely through the shape, colour, and vein of the 
 different slabs of marble opposed and contrasted. 
 
 Neither in the Vatican at Eome, the Studii at Naples, nor in any other European Museum to which the Author has 
 been enabled to procure access, has he met with a single fragment of ancient Opus Sectile imitating any existing object. 
 Had it been at all customary to employ it in this manner, evidence would doubtless have remained in situ at Pompeii,— 
 since there the student may find, in their original juxtaposition, specimens of all varieties tif the Mosaic art known 
 to either Greek or Roman. 
 
 Furietti, in speaking of sectile work, .says that A''ifruvlus first established a clear difference between tesscrai and 
 sectiha, in these words, " Supra nucleam, ad regulam et libellam, exacta pavimenta stniantur, sive sectilibus, sive 
 tesseris" — that is, " Upon the bedding, pavements are to be laid, according to rule and level, either in sectilia or with 
 tcsseran." He (Vitruvius) further says, that if the floor be made of sectilia (the before described crusia), "care must be 
 taken not to have one edge rising against another, so as to form a step." This direction he could not have given bad 
 these slices been used in such small pieces as would have been necessary to compose the Jiffiircs and ornaments mentioned 
 by Ciampini. StUl further corroborating our view of the subject, ui spestking of tcssclated work, he directs " that 
 care should be taken to make all angles equal, so that no particles may be left standing up above the others to get rubbed 
 by the foot." 
 
 The date of the first introduction of this species of Mosaic may be assumed at about fifty years before Christ, and the 
 most noble specimen of it now extant is the splendid pavement of the Pantheon at Eome, in which the several slices are 
 of very great superficial extent. Porphyry, Giallo Antico, and Pavonazzetto are the principal marbles employed, and 
 they are arranged simply in alternate round and square slabs. As the building, according to the inscription on the frieze, 
 was finished during the third Consulate of Agrippa, B.C. 2G, and niust necessarily liavc taken a long time to complete, 
 it is probable that the pa^'emc^lt was laid down some years before that period. The construction of Opus Sectile 
 imperatively demanding the employment of costly marbles, it cannot reasonably be expected to exhibit itself in the northern 
 latitudes ; it becomes, therefore, a matter of small surprise that no remains of this peculiar process should have been 
 discovered either in our own or any other Eui'opean country, except Italy. 
 
 Having now briefly noticed the general conditions attaching to these two kinds of ancient Itfosaic pavements^ wc shall 
 proceed to describe those varieties of the art which were usually applied by the Romans to mural decoration. Assuming 
 that their first labours were confined to the production of tesselated work, composed of cubes of stone or mai-ble, iti 
 regular geometrical figures, we may imngine that a short experience would demonstrate to tliem the necessity of pro- 
 vitling themselves, in tlie first place, with a more extended scale of shades and colours; and, in the second, with such 
 a process for the arbitraiy formation of material as should enable their artists to apply the principle of Mosaic 
 arrangement to the imitation of pictorial forms. The former want was siqiplied by the Opus Figlinuni^ the latter by 
 the Opus Vermiculatum. 
 
 Our third great generic variety, "the Optts Figlinum" or "fictde work," would appear to have been what is now 
 genendly Cidled "lavoro di smalto,"^ — that is, mosaic composed of minute portions of a compound of silex and alumina, 
 (coloured by the addition of one of the metallic oxides,) but possessed of a much lai-ger proportion of the former 
 
material than now in use by the modem Italians, The following passage from Pliny, lib. 3(i, cap. 25, fully 
 illustrates its historic position, tie says, " Litliostrata ca3ptavere jam sub ycyllii par^Tilis ccrte crustis, cxtat liodieqnc, 
 qnod in Fortunje delubro Pneneste fecit. Pulsa deinde ex hiimo pavimenta in cameras transiere e vitro : no\itiam ct 
 lioc invcntum Agryppa ccrte in Thermis, quas Romai fecit, figlinum opus encausto pinsit ; in reliquis albaria adornavit, 
 non dubie vitreas facturas cameras, si prius inventum id fuisset, ant a parictibus scenaB, ut disimus Scauri perveiiisset 
 in cameras." This Scaurus, Ciampini asserts, was the first who covered the scenes of the theatres with marble 
 veneering. 
 
 The principal advantages offered by this material — tlirough the nature oi' which it very sliortly, and to a great 
 extent, superseded the use of other suljstances in Mosaic — ^were, that owing to the conditions of its nianuiacture, it could 
 be obtained of any variety of colour, from the most delicate to the most intense; that its exceeding brittleness rendered 
 it susceptible of being easily reduced to any given form ; that it was far less costly than the precious mai'bles ; and 
 finally, that it was possible to cover it with an untamishable gilding. Supported by these merits, it very speedily 
 advanced into almost universal popularity ; and, from the earliest imperial ages, we find the prevailing luxury in the use 
 of " VitrcEe parictes" adopted as an ordinary theme for the satire of those poet-s who bewailed " the follies of the day," 
 and imputed them to the constant effort of each succeeding generation to Iread out the footmarks of its forcfatlier.s. 
 
 These " glassy walls" are frequently described as " cum auro superinducto," that is, with gold laid over ; a.nd tliis 
 phrase aptly designates the process adopted in the manufacture of the gold-grounded tesserte existing at Pompeii. 
 
 On a piece of vitreous compound — -in shape and size like a thin tile, and unbur]at — was laid a sheet of glass, over 
 that a piece of gold-leaf, sunnounted by another sheet of very fine glass ; the whole bemg then placed in the kUn, was 
 burnt to such a point 33 to render the imion of the parts perfect, and make the whole tUe homogeneous in substance. 
 It was then broken up to the sizes required for the particular ornament to be executed. 
 
 Though specimens composed solely of the Opus Figlinum are occasionally met with, this material is more usually 
 found in conjunction with small fragments of marble, and even of gems, when they unite to produce our fourth class, 
 the Opus Yermiculatum. Thus, in all the pavements hitherto discovered in England, those colours which could not 
 readily be obtained by the emplojTnent of the different stones found in the neighbourhood, were supplied in a sort of 
 earthy fictile work — -which has not, however, in any example hitherto discovered, that perfect semi-transparency which 
 characterizes the Italian "smaltu." 
 
 It may be well to mention here, that scarcely any traces now remsiin of tlie Baths of Agrippa, that building erected 
 behind the Pantheon about twenty-four years before Christ, into the design of which, Pliny tells us, the Opus Figlinum 
 was first introduced. 
 
 We now come to the most elaborate of our four varieties — the OpUr^ Veriniculatu/ii., which was hmited to the direct 
 imitation of figures, ornaments, pictures; the whole object being portrayed in all its true colours, shades, and 
 reflexes, by mciins of a judicious arrangement of small cubes of different coloured marbles ; and, where extreme brilliancy 
 of tint was required, by the aid of gems, and of the Opus Figlinum. 
 
 This division embraces by far the largest number, and the choicest specimens of those examples of Mosaic, wliich 
 the consuming hand of time has spared,— apparently to impress us with veneration for the minute skill and patient 
 elaboration which characterize the works of all the great masters of antiquity. In order to classify -with some 
 distinctness these Jnghly-interesting monuments, the best and most learned writers on tlie subject have agreed to 
 .suljdivide the (,)pus Verniiculatum into the three following varieties — a]iplical3le rather to HmJc than to any fundamental 
 difference. These are — 
 
 I. The ilA,ioii — applying to vaults, sometimes to pavements. 
 IT. The Mi;rnUM — to walls generally. 
 
 lU. Tin: -MiNOH Work — to pictures and portable omaments. 
 
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 Tlie mctliofl of cliiboration npplicrl to works in this major key w.is, as may be imaErincd, Romewhat I'udi', — curved 
 lines beintr frequently represented hj a series of squares dropping one below another, and many similar barbarities were 
 perpetRited, such as are not apt to be tolerated at the present day — unless, indeed, by the virtuosi in modem worsted 
 icorl'. 
 
 The " Opus Majus" was generally employed in large j)avements, or in ceilings, and represented the figures of gods, 
 centaui's, heroes, ajid genii. It was very commonly executed in black and white marble only. In the fine specimens 
 which have been found in the Baths of Caracalla, the figures are gigantic, and have been executed with wonderful spirit ; 
 tlie cubes, however, are very large, and the work is altogether of a coarse description. Most of the fragments of Mosaic 
 i'niind ill England are of this variety, and some possess considerable merit. 
 
 .Scarcely any building of magnitude wa.s erected at Rome into the service of whose decoration this useful kind of 
 ornament was not introduced: the reliqnes which have descended to our days are consequently sufficiently numerous, 
 though not generally existing in the best preservation. In the entrance to the great Mosaic depository at tlie Vnticiui, 
 in the Nuovo Braecio of the Chiaramonti Museiun, and in some of the houses at Pompeii, we meet with pleasing 
 specimens of this work, which appear verj' coarse when close to the eye, yet, being always -well and boldly drawn, 
 produce at a distance an admirable eiFect. 
 
 In this " Opus Majus," though the stones composing the forms are not always of a regular shape, they more nearly 
 approach the square than in any of the smaller styles ; a.nd a great part of the flat tints, the ground, and large draperies, 
 arc filk'd in \\-ith regular square tesseras, thus forming a mixture of opera tesselata and verraiculata. 
 
 The " Medium" was a much finer kind of work, and in it were generally executed such subjects as required greater 
 delicacy in the treatment, and more softness in the shades and tints — such as Cupids, flowers, figures, festoons. Some 
 beautiful specimens liave been found at Pompeii, where they have been used as pavements in the most honourable parts 
 of some of the richest houses. Notwithstanding these instances, however, wo have good grounds for the belief that this 
 viodus operandi was most commonly adopted as a mural decoration. 
 
 The celebrated great Mosaic of Pompeii is of medium work; and among nuiny other fragments of great beauty in 
 this class, preserved in the Vatican, may be particulaaized the finely-executed head of Minerva, surrounded by graceful 
 ornaments, occupying the centre of the flail of the Greek Cross ; and the elaborate battle of the Centaurs and Lapithfc, 
 f(.>und at Otricoli in the year 1780, which now decorates the pavement of the adjoining saloon. 
 
 The Minus " Opus Vermiculatum" was the finest and most elaborate of aU the ancient Roman varieties, and 
 consisted of the most delicate pictures, formed entirely by minute pieces of mai'ble and fictile work — many of the little 
 strips being less than the twentieth of an inch across. 
 
 Ciampini concludes that the finest productions of the Mosaic artists were esteemed and regarded by the ancients in 
 the light in which we are wont to consider pictures in the present day — merely as pieces of portable furniture; but 
 in opposition to his opinion may bo adduced several specimens of great beauty found inserted in the pavements at 
 Pompeii , 
 
 The most generally kno^vii, and by far the most exquisite example of this art still existing, is the picture usually 
 called " Pliny's Doves." Through the numerous modem repetitions of tliis work annually manufactured, its general 
 outHne and character must be familiar to every one. None, certainly, but those who have seen the original, can conceive 
 an accurate notion of the delicacy and taste displayed in its fonnation. It is preserved in the Museum of the Capitol 
 at Rome, and represents a metal bason, on the edge of which four doves are sitting ; one of them is stooping to drink, 
 and not only the shadow cast by it, but even the reflection of part of the head in the water, is beautifully given- The 
 execution of the plumage, the heads, and eyes, is most minute, and is as refined as the idea and composition of the 
 wliole are graceful and captivating. It acquii'ed its usual appcllatitm from the circumstance recorded by Pliny, 
 that Sosos of Pergamos had surpassed, in the elaboration of a Mosaic of similar design, every pre-existing attempt. It 
 
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 %vas fonnd, (as Cardiiird Fuvictti tuUs up, in his tmitise on Mosaic,) after much toil in searchiiig for such objects, in the 
 gardens of Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli, in the year 1737, and was afterwards sold by hira to Clement XIII. (Carlo 
 Eezzonico). It is tolerably well engraved, in black and white, in the Cardinal's interesting essay. The original most 
 exquisite relic enables us to guess at what may have been the perfection of those pictures, the value of which, we are 
 assured, exceeded that of many tomis ! 
 
 As a general rule, it may be assumed that the " Opus ;\rinus \'cTmiculatmn" was most highly polishetl ; the Medium 
 less brilliantly; the Majus only so far nibbed tlown, as to prevent any considerable inequality of surface. 
 
 Although the foui- great divisions we have enumerated include the leading characteristics of Koman Jlosaic, 
 there yet remain to be glanced at two or three peculiarities, wliich form, as it were, the exceptions to our rule, 
 the " Lusus musivte naturse." The first to which we shall allude, is what was called by Pliny, " Asaroton lEcon," 
 and consisted of a minute kind of " Opus Figlinum," or " Vermiculatum," \vliioh was limited in its design to a repre- 
 sentation of such fragments as might be supposed to have fallen from a luxuriously spread table to the floor of 
 the Trichnium. This somewhat puerile conceit found its admirers among the emasculate Romans; and even the 
 learned Pliny coimnends it as an ingenious notion. One interestmg specimen is still preserved in the Museum of 
 the Vatican. Pliny and Bulengerus agree in ascribing its invention to Sosos of Pergamos, the immortal author of the 
 immortal doves. 
 
 The second may be termed the "Opus Incertum" of Mosaic, since it is composed of all sorts and kinds of marble 
 put together in irregular shapes, and when united into a mass with cement, and laid upon the floor prepared to receive 
 them, reduced to a polished face by friction. Several examples of this kind of performance may yet be seen at Pompeii; 
 and, where cement can be procured, rivalling in hardness and beaut}- the time-honoured Pozzolana, it would be (.hffieult 
 to imagine a more elegant and durable pa^^'ement. This work is almost precisely similar in mode of execution to the 
 Venetian Pise floor, and the common Italian Trazzo, so much in use in the present da)'. 
 
 The third, and perhaps most eccentric of aU modes of working in Mosaic, was that of applying the coloured cubes 
 of marble, fictiha, and some other substances, to surfaces in relief, by covering a rude mezzo-relievo with plaster, and 
 then cutting away portions of the surface, and replacing the parts so rcmiived with delicate tesselation. A remark- 
 ably interestmg specimen of this peculiar process was lately in the collection of the Cavaliere Sant' Angelo, at Naples; 
 it had been discovered at Metapontmn, an ancient city near the modern Taranto. 
 
 In order to complete our sketch of the practical details of the art under the Romans, two points remain to 
 be noticed; first, the nature of the cement employed by them to attach the tesseras to each other; secondly, the particular 
 bedding on which they were wont to la}' down their coatings of Mosaic. 
 
 The cement commonly used by the ancients consisted of a mixture of slaked lime and powdered marble, in tlie 
 proportion of one of the former to three of the latter, blended with water and the white of eggs. This "mannoratum " 
 as it was called, though intensely hard, and very fine, possessed the disadvantage of setting iilmost immediately after 
 its application; so that it was found impossible to displace any of the work, even to make a trifling alteration, without 
 destroying almost the whole of that previously executed. 
 
 The preparation for the reception of the Mosaic, in ordinar}' use at Rome, was made in the following maimci-. 
 A layer of large stones or flints, with but very little cement, was fii-st placeil on the ground. Upon this was spread a 
 course of concrete, composed of smaller stones and lime, in the general proportion of five to two, which was beaten and 
 pressed down with great care, until its thickness was reduced from about one foot to nine inches. Tliis process of 
 beating was called "ruderatio;" the stratum itself, " rudus." The thir<l iiiyer, which consisted of a kind of cement 
 called " nucleus," composed of one part lime and three of broken brick, shards, &c., was then worked to a true face 
 and on it was drawn tlie outline of the pattern. The tessera;, or small pieces of Mosaic, were then placed, and over the 
 whole was poured liquid cement, so as perfectly to fill up the interstices between the cubes. Aft.er the superfluous 
 
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 cement liiid been removed, all slight inequalities were reduced by friction mth pieces of marble; and thus tlie whole wa^i 
 brought to one uniform surface. 
 
 Having now enumeriited most of the leading practiciil facts, which in ancient times were connected with the 
 mechanism of the art in Italy, we proceed to resume the thread of our general historical notice, 
 
 Catullus informs us that Maraurra was the first who employed Mosaic to decorate the walls of iiis house. Pompey 
 is described as bearing, in his triumphs after the wars of Pontus, his portrait made of gems and pearls; wc may 
 imagine, therefore, that even in his time the Minus Opus Vermiculatura had advanced to a considerable state of perfection. 
 
 Cicero describes the pavement of Ms house to have been of Opus Lithostratura. Julius Cassar is mentioned by 
 Suetonius as having been peculiarly attached to this species of decoration, and was accustomed, even in hia campaigns 
 and progi'esses, to carry with him inlaid pavement for the adornment of his tent. Furietti, in addition to the Bar- 
 berini (Palestrina) Mosaic, aRudes to several others, which he ascribes to tlie Republican period, and dwells particularly 
 on two ; one found on Mount Aventinus, and believed to have belonged to a temple of Hercules ; tlie other, sup- 
 posed to liavc formed part of a temple to the god Alexis. Some idea of the very general employment of Mosaic, at the 
 commencement of the imperial era, may be gathered from a quotation derived by Bulengerus from Seneca, who 
 exclaims, "that he should indeed consider himself poor and sordid, if the walls of his house were not adorned with 
 Alexandrian marbles, in Nuraidian Sectilia, (cnista)." 
 
 During the reign of the twelve Cassars, Mosaic rose to an unexampled popularity, and its artificers iverc amonff the 
 most honoured in the city. The prevalence of this fashion and feeling was doubtless nuieh promoted by the enonnous 
 accumulation of precious material introduced into Rome after each successive conquest. 
 
 From the monuments of every kind still existing, the art would appear to have arrl\-ed at its liighcst perfection 
 during the reign of Hadrian, (a.d. 117 to 138); and for 100 years before that period, there is Httlc doubt that no 
 liLiiUling of any importance was erected which did not largely involve the employment of this most gi-aceful 
 embellishment. 
 
 Scarcely a single residence of any size at Pompeii (overwhelmed a.d. 79) is to be found unadorned with elcant 
 pavement, either in tesaelation or vermiculation. Wherever excavations have been made in Rome, the original levels 
 may be predicated mth comparative certainty from the strata of tcsserai usually found. "Wherever M .Oman energy 
 planted its foot, traces may be seen of this cherished art. In Spam, at Barcelona, Rielves, Fumella, and Italica, (near 
 Seville)— in France, at Besan^on, Metz, Ais-en-Provence— in England, at Woodchester, Cirencester, Combe End, ui 
 Gloucestershire; Mansfield and Wodehouse, Notts; Caerweut, Monmouthshire; Nortlileigh and Banbury, Oxon; 
 Frampton, Dorset; Horkstow, Roxby, and Scamton, in Lincohishire ; Bignor, in Susses; and Littlecot, in Wiltshire; 
 very interesting specimens have been found, and many more, doubtless, remain to reward the exertions of the enter- 
 prising antiquary. A few are preserved in the British Museum, but none there are of extreme interest. The best is a 
 small portion of the great Woodchester pavement, presented by Mr. Lysons. 
 
 The most ancient Mosaic that has been discovered, displaying Christian ^vo^km3nship, is ]irobab!y the one found in 
 tliis country at Horkstow, in Lincolnshire, where, in conjunction with the usual Roman frets and ornaments, are to be 
 seen one of the monograms in use among the early Christians, and a repetition of the Ichthus, or fish, one of their 
 earliest and most sacred symbols. This Mosaic is supposed to be earlier tlian the tune of Constantine the Great, !ind 
 possesses the highest interest. 
 
 From the reign of Hadrian to that of Caracalla, the art appears to have lost in quality what it gained in the 
 quantity of its specunens; and aiter the year 220 it became obscured by clouds, portending and preceding that tre- 
 mendous storm which, sweeping the Roman empire from the earth, substituted a, barbaric splendour for the courtly and 
 effeminate magnificence of the former " mistress of the world." 
 
 On the dispersion of this stonn, appeared Christianity ; leading the human race to a hope and bilit/i' different ii-oni t iiosc 
 
9 
 
 jircviously t'litertaincd, — aiiil, as the faith was diffKrc^nt, so were the fruits. None of the sciences remained unchanged; 
 and from the era of Constantine, regeneration is as apparent and essential an element in the fine ails as in tlic religion of 
 tlie world. 
 
 Before proceeding to the second division of our subject, the Mediaeval or Christian Mosaic, it may not be useless to 
 remark, that although the manufacturing processes connected with ancient work divide themselves into the sections we 
 have detailed, the crsthetic or theoretic portion of the science takes cognizance only of two distinctions — the one imitation, 
 — the other convention. To tiie former class belong all specimens produced through the medium of the Opus 
 Vermiculatum, and to the latter most of the other varieties. 
 
 In examining the nature of the subjects selected for representation in pictorial or imitative Mosaic, the student 
 cannot but be struck by the wide range embraced and the evidence of intellect or of popular education — sometimes 
 both— manifested in the selection or appropriation of the various themes. Goda, centaurs, men, animals, landscaj^es, 
 flowers, ornaments, foliage, are depicted with almost equal abUity; and we must remember that, it is to the diu-ability of 
 the materials of which these almost iniperishable relics are composed, we are indebted for the preservation of many of the 
 lovely fancies of the great artists of antiquity — whose creations might otherwise have altogether passed away. Bearing 
 in luind, too, the constant practice of reproduction and repetition prevalent among artists and. artizans of old, we must 
 not refuse to ascribe the invention, composition, and artistic treatment of any popular legend to a master mind, merely 
 because we meet with its representation in fragments of coarse and, perhaps, ill-draum Mosaic, or in a mural painting 
 indifferently executed. 
 
 When we consider, moreover, the appropriation of these subjects, and their relation to the positions for which they 
 were designed, we cannot fail to be stinick with the general congruity existing between the nature of the idea depicted 
 and the character of the apartment to be adorned. Thus, in the houses at Pompeii, we find portrayed in Mosaic the 
 faithful dog guarding the threshold, or the hospitable inscription, hailing and welcoming the visitor -with a kindly 
 " salve," even in the doorway ; — in the Atrium, or hall, a rich though simple pattein is elaborated in the Triclinium, 
 or dining-room, we meet with the " Opus Asaroton," or representation of fragments of food dispersed upon the ground ; — 
 in the Gynfficeum, or female apartments, compositions of ornament, foliage, animals of the greatest delicacy ; — in the 
 grottoes for the preservation of the Lares, or household gods, and in the pavements near them, are to be found the 
 noblest subjects and the most refined and admirable works of art. This liappy unity of idea is extended and enhanced 
 by a similar taste displayed in the distriljution of the other pictorial embellishments. What a lesson should not this 
 afford to those who daily heap together in the decoration of their apartments the most incongruous ideas and the least 
 harmonious associations, — who place an Annuiiciation in a dining-room, flanked by a .sjiorting print and tlie " portrait of 
 a gentleman !" 
 
 Turning our attention to the structure and condition of ancient conventional, or purely architectonic design, as 
 applied to Mosaic ivork, and examining the relations sul>sisting l)ct\i-een its lines and colours and those of the adjacent 
 architectural members, we cannot but observe the skill with which they have been both arranged and contrasted. Thus, 
 the minute and frequently recurring patterns met with at Pompeii, in the cubicula and in the smaller chambers, were 
 adapted to give scale to the rooms; and, from their strict.!}' regular and geometrical character, to cause the eye to dwell 
 with increased pleasure on the flo\v'ing and playftil fonns of tiie paintings executed upon the walls : in much tlie same 
 way the rectilinear lines of tlii' pavement of the Pantheon enhance the beauty of the graceful curves of the dome and its 
 lacunaricc. 
 
 The excellent critical rules laid down by Mr. Pugin, in his "True Principles," for the design of floors in tessehition 
 and encaustic, were seldom vitiated by the Romans, and any attempt to give to architectural ornaments, so represented, 
 the appearance of relief, is by no means to be frequently met with. An inspection of the large series of prints published 
 hy the Societa CaJcografia at Rome, — the plates to Mazoi's Pompeii, — Fowler's rare and beautifiil coloured engravings 
 
 D 
 
10 
 
 of Englisii tesselaterl pavements, and tlic Comte de la Eorde's admiraljly cxcraited illustrations of the cxquisitt; pavenicint of 
 Opus Vermiculatum discovered at Italiea, near Seville, will furnish the student witli a tolerably just idea of the externals of 
 ancient Mosaic, and enable liim to appreciate, to a certain extent, the taste and ingenuity displayed in their formation. 
 
 During the MeduBval or Christian period — the second portion of our essay^ — we find that between the time 
 of Constantine, A.D. 330, and the fourteenth century, three varieties arose which obtained universally in Italy, and 
 during nearly 1000 years changed but little either in principle or composition — -with the exception, of course, that as the 
 art of design progressed, so did the power of drawing and giving expression to the nude and fohage naturally expand. 
 
 The only specimen remaining, executed in the old manner, after the religious alterations cfFccted in Italy, appears 
 to be that curious incrustation which lines the vaulting of the Baptistery erected by Constantine, dedicated to Santa 
 Costanza, and to be found near the Basilica of " Sant' Agnese fuori le Mura, Rome." It represents a vine, covering as 
 it were the whole roof; it is, in fact, a pergola, and has introduced among the leaves many Christian symbols. The 
 style is mixed Opus Tesselatum and Vermiculatum (majus and medium), and it exhibits none of tlie characteristics of 
 the three styles we are about to describe. These consisted m — 
 
 I. Glass Mosaic, called genei'ally Opus Musi-vum, — imitative; used for walls and vaults. 
 
 11. Glass Tesselation, called generally Opus Grccanicum, — conventional ; generally inlrdd in church furniture. 
 III. Marble Tesselation, called indifferently Grccanicum andAlexandrinum, — conventioiial ; formed into pavements. 
 
 \Vlicn, in the year 329, the seat of empire was removed to Constantinople, it may be believed that many Roman 
 workers in Mosaic migrated ivith the court, and through their labours some of the first churches erected by Constantine 
 were probably decorated. Omng to their then already degenerate condition, and to the distance from good existing 
 models, their hereditary predilections would desert them, and they would naturally be in a condition to receive 
 impressions, tending to the modification of their system of production, from new objects and strange fashions presented 
 to their view. Vrtim tJiem the art was doubtless handed down traditionally, but in its character effectively changed by 
 its transmission. Tlie oriental taste for gold and splendour soon superseded the purer practice of the Romans, — and 
 Piyzantine Glass Mosaic started into life. 
 
 There seems every reason to conclude that for many centui-ies the Greeks remained almost the exclusive workmen 
 and designers in Mosaic ; and, through their ingenuity, Italy and Sicily stand pre-eminent in the possession of Churches 
 and Baptisteries, whose walls are adorned with the gilded ground and the gorgeously draped and swarthy visaged saints 
 pecuUarly Byzantme. 
 
 Byzantium, Asia Minor, and the Holy Land, once doubtless possessed many noble specimens of Greek Christian art ; 
 but the elements, wars, fires, and MaJiometan whitewash have deprived us of almost all those sources whence modern 
 oriental art probably derived much of its insjiimtion and most of the peculiar features of its character. Jt is in 
 connexion with this branch of the subject that the interesting question arises, respecting the influence that the early 
 decorative processes may have had in determining the subsequent character of conventional ornament in aU styles. 
 Thus, the Arabs having at first adopted the general scheme of Byzantine architecture, and among its processes that of 
 Mosaic, the style, from want of drawings of detail and of Greek architects, declined in its integrity ; while the mechanical 
 processes being retained traditionally among the workmen, this very Mosaic work, at first only a subordinate means of 
 decorations, would become a leading element in the minds of the Mahometan designers. From experiments and 
 combinations ivitli small geometrical cubes of glass Mosaic, they would be led not unnaturally to that elaborate and 
 intricate style of pattern which, when they emerged at length from the influence of Byzantine tradition, became an 
 essential characteristic of their compositions. Thus, also, no doubt, did the ancient predilection for Mosaic modify most 
 materially not only the plan and whole structure of the churches erected in Itfily dnmi to the year 1200, but even the 
 minor details that characterize and constitute the style of those monuments. 
 
11 
 
 The view we have ventured to express concerning the infiuence exerted hy Mosaic on Arab art receives ii curious 
 corroboration from a fact quoted by Mr. Hendrie, in one of the notes to his learned and most vsiUiable work on 
 Thcojibilus. He tells us, "that it appears, from the chronicle of the Patriarch Eutichius, that when the Mnssubnen 
 invaded Palestine for the first time, they found the Church of Bethlehem, built by St. Helena, ornamented with fsefodis 
 (a word derived by the Arabs from the Greeks, and signifying an arrangement of small stones). According to Ebn 
 Sayd, one of the conditions of the peace concluded between the Caliph Valid and the Greek Emperor was, that the latter 
 should furnish a certain quantity of ' fsefysa' for the decoration of the Mosque of Damascus, which the Cahph was then 
 constructing." These "fsefysa," M. Didron (the greatest authority on such a point) clearly identifies with the 
 Tpvijioic: \()vatoic (golden Mosaics) of the Greeks. " These," he says, " are the Mosaics which cover the vaults, cupolas, 
 and a part of the walls of Santa Sophia of Constantinople, of Vatopedi and of Saint Laura of Mount Athos, of Daphne 
 near Athens, of St. Luke in Livadia, of the round temples of Salonica and of Ravenna. Mosaic is Byzantine and 
 Christian ; and the Arabs, who have merely a liorrowed architecture, have even borrowed a great portion of their 
 embellishment." 
 
 To return from these hazardous though most interesting hypotheses to the regions of reality, and our description 
 of the first division of Christian Mosaic, we may remark, as its chief and leading peculiarity, that it was employed only 
 to represent and reproduce the forms of existing objects, such as figures, architectural forms, and conventional foliage, 
 which were generally relieved with sonre slight indication of shading upon a gold ground, — the ivhole being bedded on 
 the cement covering the walls and vaults of the Basilicas and Churches. 
 
 The design of both figures and ornaments — as may be seen by consulting the great work of Seroux d'Agincourt., 
 recently translated by Mr. Owen Jones,* the plates to Gutensohn and Knapp's " Basiliken Christlichen Roms," or those 
 in Ciampini's " Vetera Monumenta," — was, generally speaking, very rude, though not without an occasional rising, in 
 some of the figures, to a certain subhmity, derivable principally from the great simpUcity of the forms and draperies, 
 and the earnest grandiose expression depicted in their countenances. Perliaps the most striking example of this peculiar 
 majesty is to be found in the enormous half-length figure of our Saviour, in the act of benediction, which occupies the 
 semidome of the apse in tlie cathedral at Monreale, near Palermo, in Sicdy. The ornament, in general, is of a far better 
 class of design when unbued with somewhat of a Saracenic or Oriental taste— as in all the Mosaic work to be found in 
 Sicily — ^than when, as in most of the churches in Home, its style of convention has been modified by old Roman frag- 
 ments, paralysing, it would seem, the feeble judgment of the designer. Where entirely removed from such an influence, 
 as at Venice, Havenna, and Ancona, this species of Mosaic assumes a far more original and peculiar style of beauty. 
 
 The pieces of glass employed in the fomiation oi' this work are of very irregular shapes and sizes, of all colours 
 and tones of colour, and the ground-tint almost invarial^ly prevailing is gold. The manner of execution is always large 
 and coarse, and rarely approaclies in neatness of joint, and regularity of bedding, even the "t)puB mnjus A''ermiculatmn 
 yet, notwithstandmg these blemishes, the eflfeet of gorgeous, luxurious, and, at the same time, solemn decoration pro- 
 duced is unattainable by any other means the author has found employed in structural embellishment. How noble and 
 truly ecclesiastical in character the gold-ckid interiors of Monreale Cathedral, of the Capella Palatina at Palermo, of St- 
 Mark's at Venice, San Miniato at Florence, or Santi ApoUinare and Vitale at Ravenna are, the concurrent testimony 
 of all travellers attests ! 
 
 According to the opimon of Mr. Hope, expressed in his tidmirable Essay on Architecture, tliis kind of work derives 
 its origin, if not its entire execution, from );iyzantium; and thouglr some of the Italian writers (Cicognara especially) 
 endeavour to establish a claim for the integrity of Italian and Sicilian schools of Mosaic, not dependent on the Greeks, 
 there seems little reason to doubt that the conclusion of Mr. Hope, supported, too, by the clear and learned judgment 
 
 Loiigmnn & Co. 
 
12 
 
 of Lord Lindsay, is correct. His Lordsliip thus expresses himself on tlie subject : — " Greek urtists were employed in 
 evciy church of consequence to decorate it with appropriate Mosaic work; and though there may be reason to believe 
 that tlie Latins, after a while, learnt to execute for themselves the ' Opus Grecanicum ' which composed the pavement, 
 and tliat iiner incrustation wliich embellished the ciboria and i-eadiiig-deslcs, it appeal's certain that their enterprise 
 soared no higlier, and that the execution of those extensive and more intricate compositions, whether symbolical or 
 dramatic, that adorned the walla, tribimes, and cupolas, remained, as late as the twelfth and thirteenth eentuiies, the 
 exclusive monopoly of Byzantium," 
 
 One curious fact, strongly corroborative of tliis opinion, is mentioned by Leo Ostiensis, (quoted by Ciampini, 
 Muratori, and others), in his description of the monastery at Monte Cassino (near San Gennano, Regno di Napoli). It 
 appears " that a certain Cardinal Desiderius \visliing, in the year 10G6, to raise a chiircli to the lionour of St. Benedict, 
 sent to Constantinople for masters skilled in Mosaic, (in arte musivi\), and also in tesaelation, (in arte quadrateria), of 
 whom some should decorate the apse, its arch, and the vestibule of the church, and others fonn the pavement ; and in 
 order that the art might not perish in Italy, he caused (Deo co-operante) many youths of the monastery to be diligently 
 instructed in the art." From this passage it may be infeiTed that, up to the year 1066, Italy possessed no other work- 
 men and designers of Mosaic than those slie derived from Greece, since it is not probable that one then at the head of 
 tlie most able and influential religious order of the time, and possessing tlic knowledge and power of Desiderius, 
 would have failed in commanding any native talent, had it then existed bi Italy. 
 
 The two earliest glass Mosaics of the Christian era, wJiicli either exist, or of whose existence we have certain 
 evidence, possess an extraordinary interest in connexion with the study of Iconography. The most ancient, which was 
 traditionally related to have been given to Prudentius, a Roman patrician, by St. Peter, and which is referred to by 
 Church -vvriters of the fourth century, was stated by M. Frelet, at the shtice held in 1841 at Lyons, by the French 
 Society "for the preservation of monuments," to be worthy of regard, as probably the primary type for the appearance 
 of our Saviour; and he further observed, that the pious duty of hnitating this Mosaic in after examples, was one of the 
 great causes of the general resemblance of physiognomy in mau}^ of the portraits executed from that period until the 
 ninth century. 
 
 Lord Lindsay mentions, in reference to the peculiar Byzantine character of the head of tlie Redeemer, " that its 
 earliest appearance is in a Mosaic, said to be of the fourth century, found originally in the cemetery of San Callisto at 
 Rome, and now preserved in the Museum Cliristianum of the Vatican. It was repeated," he remarks, " in 441, attended 
 to the right and left by the symbols of the evangelists, and the elders offering their crowns, on the triumphal arch of 
 San Paolo fuori le Mura (now destroyed); was reiterated two years later on that of St. Maria Maggiore, still existing; 
 ;incl repeated constantly afterwards in the same situation— a half length, that is to say, within a wreatli, and generally 
 in the act of blessing with the right hand, and holding the cro.ss or the globe in the left— in the basilicas successively 
 built at Rome and elsewhere in Italy." 
 
 This peculiar arrangement of subject became populai- throughout Europe, and was known in Italj^ as a 3Iaje,ifa, m 
 France as a MajesU, and in England as a Majesty. Mr. Eastlake, in his invaluable " Materials for a History of Oil 
 Painting," (p. 553), quotes a liberate roll of 1238, in which directions are given, " majestatem quandam in capella Sancti 
 Thomas depingi." 
 
 In addition to these most interesting portrait subjects, Mr. Hope alludes to many others. " Sometimes," says lie, 
 " our Saviour is represented by a lamb exalted on a pedestal, and surrounded by a nimbus, to whom t\velve other sheep, 
 repi-esentmg the Apostles, pay homage; at other times, stags approaching a vessel stand for the souls of the faitliiul 
 thirsting after the living waters: these souls while here below, appear in tlie shape of doves; after the resuiTection, and 
 in a glorified state, in that of the phcenix. In the chapel of Santa Prassede, at Rome, four angels in t!ie pendentives 
 support a medallion, the centre of the cupola conUining the head of our Saviour." Mr. Gaily Kniglit, in his " Eccle- 
 
1.3 
 
 siastical .Irchitcrture of Italy," gives an excellent coloured representation of this Mosaic. Continuing to adopt the 
 feUcitous diction of Mr. Hope, we learn " that often a troop of martyrs, male and female, distributed to the right and 
 left, are seen worsliippiug the more colossal central figure— if of our Saviour, or of the patron saint, standing on the 
 clouds; or if of the Virgin, sitting on a gemmed throne. The triumphal arch is in general adorned, in conformity ivith 
 Its name, by saints or angels, celebrating the triumph of the cross, and the sacred initials suspended over its centre." 
 
 The limits of the present Sketch preclude us from entering into the shades of Byzantine symbohsm, from pur- 
 snmg the myths of tradition, or following tile inflections of convention, and the approximations to naturalism, wliieh the 
 foregoing remarlfs indicate. Those studies require constant reference to illustrations, both pictorial and literary; and 
 we must content ourselves ivith draiving the student's attention to the works of Ciampini, D'Agincourt, Lord Lindsay, 
 Muratori, the Chevalier Biliisen, Qnast, Kiiglcr, Hope, Rio, .and the Duoa di Scrradifalco, in whicli will be found .ample 
 food for thought and research on these interesting subjects. 
 
 The general aspect of the history of this art presents us with a picture of the mditstry, perseverance, skill, and, at 
 the same time, monotony of the Greek character. From the fourth to the middle of the ninth century, an abnost unin- 
 tcrnipted succession of works, of extreme value aud impoi-tauce, may be traced. For approximations to a chronological 
 bst of these, we are indebted to various authors; since, however, the account furnished by Lord Lindsay is the most 
 condensed, aud moreover excludes performances of comparative insignificance, we prefer rather to draw from his 
 materials than from those of any of the other writers. He tells us that the more interesting Italian Mosaics, up to this 
 period, may be enumerated us follows, in their chronological order :— " Those of Santa Sabina, Home, c. 425 (now abnost 
 entirely destroyed); of Santa Maria Maggiore, c. 432; of S.S. Nazareo and Celso, or the tomb of Calla Placidia, 
 Ravenna, 440; of S. Giovanni in Fonte, Ravenna, 451; of S.S. Cosmo and Damian, Rome, 630; of S.an Vitale, 
 Ravenna, 547 ; of S. Maria in Cosmedin, Ravenna, 553 ; of S. ApoUinare di fuori, Ravenna, 567 ; of San Apollinare di 
 Dentro, Ravenna, 670; of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, Rome, 578; of S. Agnes, Home, 625; of the Oratory of San 
 Venanzio, adjoining the Baptistery of Constantine, Rome, 642 ; of the Triclinium of San Leone, (interesting for the por- 
 trait of Charlemagne,) Rome, 797; of S.S. Nereus and Achilles, Rome, c. 800; of S. Maria m Domenica, Rome, 815; 
 of S. Pudenzhana, Rome, and of S. Prassede, Rome, c. 820; of S. Cecdia, Rome, 820; of S. Ambrogio, Milan, 836; of 
 S. Maria Nuova, Rome, 848." In Mr. Hope's catalogue several examples, not here mentioned, may be found, accom- 
 panied, for the most part, by the names of the founders; and m the pages of Ciampmi and Muratori, the student may 
 find ample information as to dates and other mmutia;. 
 
 From the year 850, to the beginning of the twelfth century — a period of war, misrule, and suffering an almost 
 
 complete hiatus in the historj- of Mosaic occurs in Italy ; and as wluit little evidence we can gather of the e-xtension of 
 the art into other countries of Europe belongs to a neatly corresponduig period, we shall thither, for the present, tuni 
 our attention. 
 
 To <.xisting monnments, illustrative of this branch of the subject, we tisar it is not in our power to refer. The 
 Mosaics known to have been executed in the Abbey of Clugny are now defaced; and those which once decorated the 
 cathedral at Aix-la-Chapelle were destroyed in consequence of the reiaiilding of Charlemagne's Church, originally con- 
 structed m 706. The very early period at which history informs us that the French became thoroughly acquamted 
 with eveiy process connected with the manufaeturo of coloured glass, proves the capability of that people to produce, 
 at a remote date, any variety of necessary material, whilst their most ancient vitreauic manifest a considerable reeogni- 
 tion of the principles of Mosaic arrangement. M. de Lasteyrie, in his admirable essay on Glass ]>ainting, tells ns, on 
 the authority of Gregory of Tours, that before the nuddle of the sixth century stained glass existed in the Church of 
 St. Martin, and that the ancient Abbaye de .Jumieges was decorated with coloured windows as far back as the year 
 650. Te can therefore have no doubt, that in the niiUh rentuiy the art of working in Mosaic was perfectly within the 
 reach of the inhabitants of Europe north of the Alps. Fioi-illo, in his " Geschiclitc dor Zeichnendc.n Knnste in 
 
14 
 
 Deiifschland," states that in the year 993, Beriiward, Bishop of Hilrlesheim, executed many works in Mosaic;. He says 
 that, " An einigen wiisten stellen in seinem Bisthuin hat cr neue (Jebaude, und zwar eimge sehr schbne von weissen 
 und rothen steinen und mit musiv-gemahlden aufgefiiJirt.." Tangmar, the Monkish chronicler of the period, observes 
 that this same ecclesiastic, " Musivum prseteria in pavimentis ornandis studium nee non lateras ad tegulara propria 
 induMtria, nuUo monstrante composuit." 
 
 The triljute thus offered to the genius, but due only to the mdustry of Bernward, must be regarded as a mere 
 rhetorical floui-ish, since, from ]iiiuiy curious existing numuscripts, containing collections of " secreta," and recipes of all 
 sorts referring to the arts, there can be no donlit that the knowledge of all such processes was then widely disseminated 
 throughout Etirope. The earliest record of this sort is that which has been printed by Muratori, in the " Antiquitates 
 Itahcie medii ^vi," vol. ii., fol. ed. The original MS. is preserved at Lucca, and was ascribed by Mabillon to the time 
 of Charlemagne; its learned editor attributes the production, however, to the tenth century. The barbarous Latinity 
 displayed, and the dilapidated condition of the original, render it, as Muratori confesses, almost iUegilile. He has, 
 nevertheless, extracted from it the following recipes: — " De tictio omnium musivorum. — Prasimivitri de mimdo de 
 Massa libras \ . limatura teranienti absque plumbum.— II. Et mitte in vaso nobo tecte, sufl^'erens ignem, et decoquens 
 inferiora fornace Vitriari, die VI. Et post haie eice, et confrangis minutatim, et iterum coniias; Prasino tingues." 
 
 " De inoratione Musiborum De inorationc Musiliorum facis pecula plus crosa quejussans. Post ha:c pone pectaluni 
 
 auream super pectalum Vitri. Et supm ponic pectala., super alia multum supra pectalum auri. Et mittis utraque in 
 fornace, donee inchoat solvi petalum vitri et postea ejcis, ut refridet. Et toUe ; frigas faeiem in tabulam plumbinam 
 ismironienan, donee, attenues faciem; et eoloras ilhid." " De mosibum dc argeiito.* — Mosibum de argento, secundo 
 quod superius exposuimus, ita omnia facies." 
 
 Xrtices of tlie art of Mosaic, aiul of its technical processes, closely resembling the above, may be found in the pages 
 of Thetiphilus, whose invalualale " Schedula. Diversarum Artium" is ascribed by Mr. Ilendrie to the early iialf of the 
 eleventli century, though by JI. Guicliard, the Abbe Texier, and M. Didron, assigned to a considerably later period. 
 Independently of the internal evidence of the German origin of the document, the number of early copies, and different 
 versions of this MS. found in various great libraries — in Italy, Vienna, Wolfenbiittel, Paris, London, Cambridge — 
 indicate how generally diffused throughout Europe may have been the knowledge of the receipts contained in it during 
 the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Clear and detailed directions for making the gold Mosaic may also be found in 
 the " Mappa; Clavicula," a MS. of great interest, I'ecently published in the Archceologia, by Sir Thomas Philips, and by 
 him attributed to the age of Henrj^ IT., as the production, most probably, of a tmnscriber or author of this country. 
 
 The existence of these, and probably many similar documents, coupled with tlic fact of the great influence con- 
 stantly exercised by the Byzantines on French art and architecture, manifested in the early Limoges enamels, and in 
 the churches of Auvergne and the South of France, justify us, we think, in concluding that the art of glass Mosaic was 
 far more generally practised north of the Alps than is usually supposed. Nor must we forget that the primitive 
 churches, probably adorned with that material, were dedicated to the most popular saints, and therefore very likely 
 to become destroyed to make way for more spacious cathedrals, similarly dedicated, but capable of affording larger 
 accommodation, and of supplying such a series of chapels and oratories as would yield a shrine to every patron saint 
 wliose intercession miglit he especially coveted. 
 
 Returning to tliat favoured soil, ivhere all that was most beautiful most rapidly expanded, we find that though 
 symptoms of a renewed existence in tlie history of Mosaic burst forth in the commencement of the great works at St. 
 Mark's, Venice, (in 1073), it W!is not until the beginning of the twelfth century that the art esliibited any further 
 striking development. It is in tlie decoration of the apse of the celebrated Chureh of San Clemente, at Rome, that we 
 
 ' Thia recipe poaaesaea peculiar interest from the fact of ita Leidg the only record of the employment of silvered MosLiio. Thi; authur lias not 
 been able, in any Italian example, to diacover a trace of the praclit-nl carrying out of nny such directions. 
 
15 
 
 find tlie progression most strongly manifested. This is, as Lord Lindsay remarks, " a most elaborate and beautifiil 
 performance, yielding to none in minuteness of e:secution and in delicacy of sentiment. It is characterized, moreover, 
 by a resuscitation of the symbolism of early Christianity so long neglected, although in subordination to one of the 
 traditional dramatic compositions — ^the Crucifixion. On every account, tlierefore, it merits the most attentive examina- 
 tion." Space does not enable us to follow his lordship tlirougli liis interesting description, either of these Mosaics, or 
 those of St. Mark's, Torcello, Monrcale, and others. In iiis eloquent pages, and in Ciampini's learned disquisitions, the 
 student will probably meet with all the existuig information that can be obtained respecting them, siiort of what a 
 personal inspection might aftbrd. 
 
 Towards the beginning of the thirteenth century, the Italian artists began to learn from the Greeks then settled at 
 "V enice, and probably at Rome and Monte Cassino, to execute Mosaic work for themselves. Fra Giacomino, otherwise called 
 Mino da Turrita, commenced, in the year 1225, the decoration of the Tribune of the Baptistery at Florence; and, after 
 there completing his work, he appears to have proceeded to Rome, where, towards the close of the centniy, wa find liim ex- 
 ecuting the splendid Mosaics of the Tribunes of San Giovanni Laterano and Santa Maria Maggioi'e. After the departure 
 of Mino from Florence, his place was supphed by Andrea Tali, who acquired the art from the Greeks, then working at St. 
 Mark's. He succeeded in inducing one of his instructors, Apollomus by name, to return with him to Florence : there they 
 executed in conjunction the Mosaics which adorn the cupola of the Baptistery. In these labours they were assisted by 
 the celebrated Gaddo Gaddi — the father of a race of artists — who, after distinguishing himself highly at Florence, was 
 sunmioned to Rome ; in which city he executed, among other large undertakings, the great Mosaic, still existing on the 
 fa5ade of the Basdica of Santa Maria Maggiore. For illustrations of this work, and to an Essay, aa well thereon as on 
 the great productions of Mino da Turrita, we refer the reader to the pages of D'Agiiicourt, Lord Lindsay, and "Kuapp 
 and Gutensohn's Basilicas of Rome." The chronological succession and differences of the practice of the art treated of 
 in the first and in the last of those literary productions may he advantageously studied. With Gaddo Gaddi the genuine 
 art of Italian glass Mosaic may be said to have died, although small portions, executed at almost every date, are yet 
 to be found in that great encyclopedia of art, St. Mark's, at Venice. 
 
 Our second variety of Christian Mosaic — the glass tesselation, which we sliall venture to call Opus Grecanicum — 
 consisted in the insertion into grooves cut in white marble, to a depth of about half an inch, of small cubes of variously 
 coloured and gdded "smalto," (as the Italians called, and still call, the material of -ivhich Mosaic is composed) and in 
 the arrangement of these simple forms in such geometrical combination as to compose the most elaborate patterns. 
 These, it is to be recollected, diifer from all that were produced by means of " Opus Musivum," our first genus, in the 
 essential particular of being purely conventional in style. These ornamental bands it was customary to combine with 
 large slabs of the most precious materials — of Serpentine, Porph}Ty, Pavonazzetto, and other valuable marbles, and apply 
 them to the decoration of the furniture of Churches and Basiheas, Thus they are constantly to be met with in the cancelli 
 or screens, the ambones or pulpits, the episcopal and regal thrones, the ciboria or tabernacles, and in the most 
 gorgeous tombs and monuments. Their use externally was comparatively I'are, although they may occasionally be found 
 uniting themselves witli t!ie architectural jncmbers of a building— as in the Cloisters of St. Paul's and St. John's in the 
 Lateran; the Porticos of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, Rome, and of the Duomo, at Civita Castellana. The Opus 
 Grecanicum prevailed over the whole of Italy for many centuries, but cannot be referred to an extremely early origin, 
 since the art of geometry, on wliich Its beauty, and indeed existence, almost entirely depended, was not revived in any 
 considerable degree until the sixth centiu-y, or later. 
 
 We are unable to Instance any earlier example of glass tesselation than that in the Episcopal Chair and Tribune 
 ui the Basilica of San Lorenzo at Rome, executed, probably, about the year 580. The numerous plates Illustrating the 
 peculiarities of this variety of Jlosaic furnished In the present wrjrk will, it Is to be lioped, convey a clear idea of Its 
 nature, but they cannot fully express the felicitous manner in which its pfitterns harmoiii'/e in i-nnipnsitioii with 
 
16 
 
 sculpture and painting. The regular and rectilineal qualities of its geometrical forms give to the figures of imitative art, 
 and to curved and flowing ornament the same \-ivacity and sense of motion ("il moaso d'un quadro") which the 
 rectangular lines of a piece of architecture afford when introduced into an historical picture. 
 
 The hexagon and the triangle, the square and octagon, form the usual geometrical bases of most of the specimens 
 of this ingenious art to be found in Itiily. Descending into Sicily, patterns of accumulating intricacy arrest our 
 attention — more especially at Palermo in tlie CapcUa Pulatina, and in the Ciathedral at Jlonreale, The existence of 
 these features in that particular locality is to be accounted for by the acknowledged skill of the Saracens, the principal 
 inhabitants of the island, in the contrivance and execution of decorations of great elaboration and of striking colour. 
 
 \\nierever glass Mosaic in imitation of figures was used, this kind of work was employed ; and until the decadence 
 of the former variety, neither in design, colour, nor nature of material, did the last examples executed of the latter 
 appear to differ at all from the first. It is right, however, to notice that the popularity of the conventional Mosaic 
 survived that of the pictorial by at least a century and a half. 
 
 These brilliant patterns will doubtless, to the taste of many, appear glaring and gaudy ; but let those 
 labouring under this impression picture to themselves its combination ■witli the noble colour, and the scenic and 
 picturesque association of the fine old Italian Cluirches, in which tiie examples are usually found, and they will probably 
 arrive at some niore just idea of its graceful and harmonious effect, and its capabihties as an industrial agent. 
 
 Scarcely any specimens of this art are to be found, out of Italy. Mr. Hope notices some which formerly existed in 
 the old Abbey of Clugny, in France, now destroyed; and we may boast of two or three specimens in our own countiy of 
 exceeding interest. The Shrine of Edward the Confessor, which was finished under Henry III., bears an inscription, 
 recording it to have been executed in the year 1270. The tomb of the same monarch exhibits also some very beautiful 
 specimens of this same process, though, alas! in a wretcfied state of dilapidation. There appears to be no doulit 
 whatever that these precious relics of long -forgot ten arts were the work of Italian aitists, and they have been long 
 ascribed to the Italian, Pietro Cavallini, who executed the Mosaics of Santa Maria in Trastevere at liome: but on most 
 fallacious evidence are they attributed to him, smce he never appears to have visited England; and had it lieen possible 
 for him to do so, his visit could not have been at that time. 
 
 Turning now to our third division of the meduBval Mosaic — ^that wliich formed the ordinaiy Italian church paving 
 from the time of Constantino down to the thirteenth century — the Opus Ak.miu/rinum. We may describe it generally as 
 tesselated nuu-ble Avork— that is, an arrangement of small cubes, usually of porphyry or serpentine (reddish purple and 
 green coloured), composing geometrical patterns in grooves cut in the white marble slabs which form the pavement. 
 The contrast between these two colours produces a monotonous but always harmonious effect, Gialh] Antieo, a light 
 yellow marble, with an occasional blush tone, is also sometimes emploj'cd, but it iias always the appearance of a 
 subsequent introduction. This kind of pavement is of very great antiquity, and is generally regarded as having closely 
 resembled that introduced into Rome by Alexander Severus, a.d. 222— 5;15. L;impri(hus asserts that the Emperor 
 brought with hiui from Alexandria great quantities of porphyry and sei 'pen tine, ^vhich he caused to be ^vorked into 
 small squares and triangles, and variously combined. Prior, hoAvcver, to this date, Pliny had described (I. xxxvi. 
 cap. 25), " a species of Mosaic for pavements, composed of interlayings of poi-phyry and serpentine — riclier in colour 
 and Jess liable to wear out than softer marbles — which he calls genus pavimenti Grecanici."* Adopted by the Byzantine 
 Greeks as their " specialiti?," it was, by the aid of their workmen, largely disseminated throughout Italj^, and, (as we have 
 already learned from the passage concerning Desiderius, furnished by Leo Ostiensis), the Italian monks acquired from 
 them tlie processes of its manufacture. 
 
 It must be confessed, that but few of the specimens -which remain exhibit any considerable neatness in the 
 
 ■ llopo's Essay oil Arcliiitctuii', p. iG4. 
 
17 
 
 " comniettitura," or fitting together. TIki least i m peri'uct in this respect are those in the Capclla Palatina, iit Palermo, and 
 in the churches of San Lorenzo and Santi Giovanni e Paolo, at Rome. Strong internal evidence of the Greek (Byzantine) 
 origin of the design of all these pavements is to be found in the marked limitation of the variety of ornament employed 
 throughout Italy and Sicily ; — the same patterns for the filling-in fonns being found in almost every church paved with 
 the " Oi^us Alexandrinmn" throughout either country ; and the general arrangement is, in principle, perfectly identical. 
 The effect of the most common leading " motif" is tolerably clearly shown in our plates of portions of the pavement at 
 St. Mark's, Rome, and at San Lorenzo, -without the walla of the same city. 
 
 "We have good reason to believe that this variety did not remain in general use nearly so late as either of the two 
 varieties previously described, and that its employment was discontinued almost totally towards the end of the thirteenth 
 century. It was gradually superseded by that Idndof work knowi to the Italians as "Opera di Commesso," — that is, a 
 Mosaic formed by slices of marble, arranged somewhat on the principle of the ancient " Opus Sectile," — -the projections of one 
 piece being so cut as to enter into the recesses of another : in that manner it produced, at first, geometrical and conventional 
 forms and patterns, and, at a later period, pictorial representations. ^Iien this latter effect was aimed at, advantage 
 was taken of the natural tints of the marbles to express shades and local colour; and the work, when fully carrying out 
 the imitative system, became what is generally known by the name of " Florentine Mosaic." Limited at first to the 
 monochrome and conventional expression of form, we may trace this art from the Church of San I^Iiniato and the 
 Baptistery of Florence, through the works of Giotto at the Campanile, Bmnellesehi at the Duomo, and (Jr(?agna at Or 
 San Michele, to the singular pavement at Siena, -wliere, through the wond(n'fiil skill of Bcccafumi, large and elaborate 
 historical compositions may be seen, admirably exhibited in light, half tint, and shadow, by means of the contrast of 
 three marbles only. 
 
 This sketch of the nature of the Mediseval Mosaic processes would, even as an outline, be imperfect, did we 
 omit all notice of that curious variety which, possessing some analogy with the early Florentine work, differs 
 from it chiefly in the nature of the materials of its composition. We allude to Volcanic Mosaic — which, as niaj' be 
 readUy inferred from its name, is to be found developed in those districts only where nature, in her superfecundity, has 
 provided ingredients peculiarly fitted, from their depth and contrast of tint, to produce varied effects when, by incrustation, 
 combined in the surfaces of stone or mai'ble of a lighter or wanner colour. In the kingdom of Naples, in Sicily, and in 
 Auvergne in France, numerous churches exist m which this method of inlaying has been adopted with a singularly 
 graceful effect many of the ornamental designs so executed possessing much freshness and vivacit}'. The Duomo and 
 Great Cloister at Monreale, the Cathedral and the tower of the Church of La Martorana, at Palermo in Sicily, and the 
 churches at Amalfi and Ravcllo, in the knigdom of Naples, present us with the best specimens of tliis Mosaic, so well 
 adapted for external decoration; Avliile the intcresthig examples illustrated by M. Mallay, in his " Eglises Romanes et 
 Romano-Byzantines du dcpartemeut du Pnys-de-Dome" — those especially which ornament the Church of St. Paid 
 d'Issoire — demonstrate liow curiously identical was the method of working the " tufo " in France and in Italy during 
 the ele^'enth and twelfth centiu-ies. 
 
 Turning om- attention awhUe from the regular varieties of European workmanship, it may be well to notice that, 
 during the middle ages, Mosaic obtained to a very considerable extent among the Eastern nations: — in India, at Agra 
 and Delhi, in the form of inlaying with precious stones, marbles, and coloured compositions; in Turke}' and Asia Minor, 
 in the form of large pieces of faience, coloured on the surface and fitted together. In Spain, the floors adopted it as 
 an essential element in the formation of dados and mural decoration. The Spanish affection for " azuleijos," or painted 
 tiles, has indeed grown into a proverb. One instance only occurs in the Alhambra of the employment of Mosaic as 
 pavement. The tiles composing the Alhambraic wall decoration are usually square, and stamped on the surface with 
 very intricate patterns; the colouring matter, being then floated over, sinks into the indentations, and on being wiped 
 away from the plain faces, remains only in those sinkings which define the ornament. The sides arc so cut smiiy at an 
 
 F 
 
18 
 
 acute angle to the face, as, when laid togetheT, tu leave a key for tlie plaster, ami yet come to a pcrft'Ctiy neat joint 
 externally. Interesting examples of the Moorish and Oriental tiles and Mosaic are given in the works of IleiT Hessemer 
 and Mr. Owen Jones; and many beautiful specimens in imitation have been produced by our oivn manufacturers. 
 
 i laving thus endeavoured to convey some idea of the nature and peculiarities of mediiuval Mosaic, It remains for us, 
 in coimexion with our second historic division, to glance at the accelerating causes whicli, immediately preceding the 
 age of Leo X., aided in banishing these graceful adjuncts to architectural decoration from the catalogue of the products 
 of Italian art. — (.'iir f'irsf \-arii't;-, Glass Mosaic, with its Byzantine conventionality, and Its unvarying gold ground, was 
 superseded througliuiit Italy hy Fresco painting, or by an incrustation of the walls of churches, chapels, and other 
 buildings, with large slabs of higlily polished marbles. At Venice only was it retained in anything approaching its 
 pristine perfection, after the year 1500. — -The second process, the Glass tesselaied work, was too picturesque an element 
 to harmonize with the severity of ^^iti'uvian precepts, and was, therefore, entirely neglected by those architects who 
 modelled tlieir practice in perfect subservience to his magisterial dicta. — Our third variety, the Marble tesselation, shared 
 a similar fate — attributable, probably, to the same cause, aided by the liict that tiie porphyry a,nd serpentine, of one or 
 other of which it was invariably composed, were both extremely costly to procure, and still more expensive to work. 
 The mode of properly cutting and carving those materials was, indeed, for many centuries, placed by the Itahans among 
 tliii lost arts. 
 
 Mosaic, however, was too congenial to Italian taste and association to remain long In obscurity. On the revival of 
 learning and classical sttidles, attention was naturally directed to the restoration, to their foi-mer digiiity, of some of tlie 
 ancient manufacturing processes. At Rome, efforts were made to imitate the Opus Fighnum ; at Florence, the Opus 
 Sectile : both were crowned witii success. The one is now known to us as modem lioman, the other as modem Florentine 
 Mosaic. The decoration of the domes of St. Peter's, undertaken by Clement VIII. at the commencement of the 
 seventeenth century, created a great demand for artificers in Mosaic at Rome, and induced the establishment of a regular 
 school and manufactory — now called the " Fabrica." At the commencement of these works, as large a sum as four scudi 
 per square palm was paid for the labour of forming coarse Mosaic ; but in consequence, Ciampini tells us, of the influx 
 of artists from all parts of Italy, attmcted to Rome " fama tam immodici pretli, et copla' Mnsivi ojieris, quod iiiilii 
 constmi cieperat," the price for the same quantity of similar work soon diminished to idiout half a scndo — two shillings 
 and sixpence of our money. The study of the art In the gi'eat Papal manufactory at Rome was doubtless mucli 
 stimulated by the discoveries there made, from time to time, of various ancient examples, and likewise by the genius 
 and ability of the celebrated Giovanni Baptlsta CaUandra. This remarkable artist, who died in the year 1644, executed 
 that well-known copy of Guido's picture of St. Michael the Archangel, which now adorns one of the chapels in St. 
 Peter's; he also conferred the greatest benefit on the system of fixing the tesseraj by the invention and adoption of 
 a retardmg mastic cement. 
 
 No important change appearing to have taken place in the mode of Mosaic manufacture from the time of Callandra 
 to the present day, a short notice of the process now usually followed ;it Rome may not be uuinterestinij A plate, 
 generally of metal, of the size of the picture to be copied, is first surrounded by a margin rising about three quarters of 
 an inch from its surface ; this is then covered over with a coating, of perhaps a quarter of an inch i ii thickness, of mastic 
 cement, composed of powdered Travertine stone, lime, and linseed oil. This, when set, is entirely covered with plaster 
 of Paris, rising to a level with the surrounding margin, which is intended to be exactly that of the finished Mosaic; on 
 this is traced a very careful outline of the picture to be copied; and with a fine chisel just so much la removed from 
 tune to time as -vvilL admit of the insertion of the small pieces of smalto. This " sraalto," composed, as already men- 
 tioned, of glass, is prepared in circular forms, about sLx or eight inches in diameter, and half an inch thick. For full 
 directions for making and colouring tiiis substance the reader is referred to the ^\'orks of Neri and of Ciaiiqiini. The 
 operator then proceeds to select from the great depository, wherein are preserved in trays nearly ten thousand varieties 
 
19 
 
 oi' tolour, a pietu of tbo particular tint he may require; this ho britigs to the iiecessaiy shape by striking the smaltfi wltli 
 a sharp-edged hammer, directly over a similar edge placed verticaUy beneath; the concussion breaks the smalto to very 
 nearly the foiTO desired ; and the precise shape and size are afterwards obtained by grinding it upon a lead whetd covered 
 with emery powder. The piece thus shaped is then moistened with a little cement, ami bedded in its proper situation, 
 — the process being repeated until the picture is finished; when the whole, being groimd down to an even face, and 
 polished, becomes an imperishable work of art, rescuing from oblivion beautiful forms too often subject to mutability 
 and destruction. Thus have been elaborated those noble specimens of Mosaic that decorate the altars of St. Peter's 
 — those wonderfully minute records of the past or passing beauties of Raphael's Transfiguration, of Domenichino's 
 St. Jerome, and of Guercino's Santa Petronilla, which happUy, as an enthusiastic German traveller* remarks, " wie am 
 Tage ihrer vollendung, so stralilen sie noch yetzt in scbinuncrnden Farbenfrische, und werden es, so lang nur ein Stein- 
 chen ncben dcm andern sitzt." Six regnlarly instructed artists are now usually employed in the "Fabrica" at the 
 ^''atican, The process adopted in manufacturing those minute Mosaics which are so largely employed at tlie present 
 day in articles of bijouterie and rtrti/, is exactly similar in detail to that we have already described, though elaborated, 
 of course, upon an almost microscopic scale. 
 
 The Florentine, our second variety of modem Mosaic, is generally composetl of an assemblage of pi'ecious materials 
 in very thin slices or veneers; and by taking advantage judiciously of the natural tints and shades which characterize 
 the marble, agate, or jasper, of which it may be fonned, verj' extraordbiary eifects may be produced in tolerably perfect 
 pictorial imitation of fruit, flowers, figures, or ornaments. This work, in consequence of the manner in whicli its com- 
 ponent parts are fitted together, is called by the Italians, " Opera di Commesso," and as such Giorgio ^' asan describes at 
 some length its peeubar nature and capabilities. Baldinucci furnishes us witli a tolerably copious hst of those artists 
 tlirough whose exertions the celebrity of the grand Ducal manufactory was mamtained during the seventeenth centuiy, 
 and to whose taste and ingenuity Florence is indebted for the choicest specimens which at present decorate her palaces 
 and galleries. In consequence of the extremely expensive character of this Mosaic, its use has been, and is very much 
 restricted: still — considering that none but the hardest minerals are employed; that every piece of veneer must, in 
 order to obtain additional strength, be backed by thicker sbces of slate or some such m;iteri;il; tliat every minute por- 
 tion must be ground until it exactly corresponds ^x'itli a pattern previously cut. — i\'e cannot but express surpi'isc at the 
 great quantity and the grand character of tlie works wliich liave been, and are still produced at the celebrated Grand 
 Ducal " Fabrica." Portions, lately completed, of an altar front intended for the cliapel of the Medici at San Lorenzo, far 
 surpass in delicacy and beauty any specimens yet executed at Florence ; and they demonstrate that Mosaic, at least, has not 
 shared in the general decrepitude which has enfeebled the modern practice of the fine and industrial arts in Tuscany. 
 
 We have no'w, through our divisions into the Ancie7it, Mediicral, and Modern periods, attempted to trace the pro- 
 gress of tJie art of Riosaic from its past to its present state : that portion of its present existence which is most interest- 
 ing to us, nationally, nevertheless remains to he examined. In no eoimtry of Europe (Italy, of course, excepted) baa 
 any attempt to revive the lost processes been crowned witli much success; and although in England, for many years 
 past, a series of intelligent manufacturers have brought considerable skill and eiiergy to bear upon the subject, their 
 efforts can scarcely be said to have arrested pubhc attention ; still less have tliey created the demand which their sanguine 
 enthusiasm and commercial activity in some measure deserved. Mr. Ward, hi his able paper published in i\Ir. 
 Blashfield's valuable work on Mosaic floors, says, — " about forty years ago a patent was obtained by Mr. Charles Wyatt 
 for a mode of imitating tesselated pavements by inlaying stone mtli coloured cements; floors tlius constructed, how- 
 ever, Avcre found liable to become une\'en in use, in consequence of tbo unequal hai'dness of the materials, ■\\-liI(;h defect 
 prevented their general adoption. Terra cotfa (or burnt clay), inlaid with coloured cements, has also been tried, but 
 
 • KciT Spctli, "Dit.' Kiiiifil in Il;ilion." 2tir Tlieil. p. 1H9. 
 
20 
 
 fbujul liable to the; saint; oljjection." During the last ten years many experiments have been tried, both with cements 
 (coloured with metallic oxides) and various bituminous compositions, all with but indifferent success. The lessons of 
 experience, acquired during a long course of practical study and observation, enabled Mr. Blashficld, in the year 1839, 
 to construct an elaborate Mosaic flooring lor Mr. Hope at his seat at Decpdcuo, in Surrey. This pavement— combining 
 the principles of the ancient " Opits Incertum" the A^enetian Piftc^ and the common Italian Trazzo floors — has elicited 
 much admiration from those judges by whom it has been examined. By this, and many similar efforts, more general 
 attention was attracted to the subject, and the way became opened to those improvements we shall proceed to describe. 
 Setting aside the employment of encaustic tiles, as scarcely coming within our strict definition of Mosaic^ we look 
 upon these great improvements as two only in number — one system of construction emanating from the ingenuity 
 of Mr. Singer and Mr. Pether; tiie other arising from the combined energies of Mr, Prosser, Mr. Blashfield, and Mr. 
 Minton, of Stoke-upon-Trent. 
 
 Mr. Singer's first object was to secure a perfect imitation of the ancient Pioman " Opus Tenselatmn." In order to 
 obtain tessercB perfectly uniform in size, hardness, colour, and sui-face, he placed compact and well jnigrfcd clay in a 
 machine, where, by means of powerful levers, it was subjected to great pressure, and made to exude at last out of a 
 horizontal aperture of six inches by half an inch. As it protruded it was cut into.lengths of three inches; and those 
 suiall pieces of clay, six inches in length by three in breadth, and half an inch in depth, were left for some days to dry. 
 Fifteen or twenty were then laid upon one another, and a frame of corresponding size (across which were strained wires 
 crossing one another at regular intervals), sliding vertical!}- on tw o upriglits, was made to pass through them — cutting 
 out by this motion, perhaps, one himdred uniform tessei'a^. A\'hen any cui-ved forms were required, the tessene -were 
 jjlaeed angle-wise in a gi'oove, and a piece of cur\'ed metal made to pass through a quautitj' placed together, — thus 
 producing a perfect coincidence of Ibnu between the parts so divided. The tesseite beuig then burnt, and partially 
 vitrified, became an excellent material, by the employment of which very beautiful pavements have been elaborated. 
 Among these may lie noticed the flooring of the Hall of the Reform Club, and a purtluu of the p;ivement of Wilfou 
 Church, near Salisbury. 
 
 The second mecbanic[il improvement to whicli ^v■e have alluded was originally discovered by Mr. Prosser, of Bir- 
 mingham, in tlic year 1840. " He found (to qiiute the words of Mr. Ward) that if the material of porcelain (a mixture 
 of flint and tine clay) be reduced to a dry powder, and in that state subjected to strong pressure between steel dies, the 
 powder is compressed into about a fourth of its former bidk, and is converted into a compact substance of extraordinaiy 
 hardness and density, much less porous and much harder than the common porcelain uncompressed and baked hi the 
 furnace. The happy idea having suggested itself to Mr. Blashfield that this process was better suited tor the forma- 
 tion of tesscKE than any other, he made arrangements with Messrs. Minton and Co. (who liad been cmploj-ed by 
 Mr. Prosser to carry out bis invention) for a supply of small cubes tlius formed, itany ver}' beautiful Mosaic pave- 
 ments have been produced -with the aid of these admirable tessera;. They may be made of any fonn — either in squares, 
 for tesselation, triangles and liexagons, for iinit;ition of the Ojms Alexandrinum — or of any colour; and hy means of 
 enamelling the surface with the most briUiant tints and gold, perfect substitutes for the medieval glass tesselation may 
 be produced. In order to form a Mosaic with these tessersc, the pattern is first arranged upon a true bench, that is, a 
 perfectly level and rectangular table ; the cubes are placed each one in its proper situation, and are then covered over 
 with a peculiar cement, on which are bedded strong tdes or slate backlog. Directly the mass is indurated, the pave- 
 ment may be raised and removed to its mtended situation, and will be found to be perfectly tme on the face, of an 
 even hardness, imperishable and unchanging, with an almost imperceptible joint^ and altogether as beautiful in mechanical 
 execution as such a work can be. We have dwelt thus miijutely on those detaUs, since wc feel most aiLxious to disabuse 
 the pubhc mind of the pojudar notion that there exist great practical difficidtles in, and inqjedinicnts to, any attempt to 
 establish this elegant oi'uainenf as a general work of British Ait. 
 
21 
 
 Having thus briefly recapitulated the leading events, and described the structural peculiarities which have obtained 
 at different epochs in the history of Mosaic, we shall proceed to offer a few remarks on the advantages likely to accrue 
 to students in cesthetics, wlio maybe enabled to correct the imperfections and supply the deficiencies whieh disfigure our 
 feeble sketch of a truly great original. 
 
 To all. who take a sincere interest in the art of pamting, the importance of a thorough acquaintance with the history 
 of Mosaic is extreme; since almost tJie only records, on a large scale, of the earliest progress and development of the 
 power of representing fomi pictorially, in accordance with eceLesiastical tradition, are traced in its marked and apparently 
 ineff'aceable characters. To those engaged in the examination of ancient manuscripts it is of great value, in 
 enabling them to approximate to dates, and to test and compare styles, — ^to a knowledge of which they could attain 
 through scarcely any other means. To all iuterested in the history of stained glass, an acquaintance -vrith the peculiarities 
 of Christian Mosaic is highly important; — the most interesting relations being found to subsist between the primitive 
 expositions of both dramatic and purely conventional form, as set forth througlt tlie aid of both materials. To the 
 enameller, the study must be possessed of gz'eat channs, since the Greeks, Avho were for many centuries the chief, if not 
 the only, European labourers in tliat branch of the arts, merel}- reproduced, upon a strictly Mosaic system of operation, 
 and in a veiy minute fonn, in their enamels, those works which, on a large scale, decorated the walls of their noblest 
 Ituildings. To the architect. Mosaic affords the most durable, and, probably, the most beautiful means of adding to the 
 charms of well-studied and varied form the graces of colour; It enables him to study the science of polychromy on the 
 largest scale, and by the aid, too, of a series of the most fully developed exi^eriments; it offers to Iiun, m its simple 
 geometrical character, a variety of design, almost unparalleled in decorative resources — one that harmonizes alike with 
 the severer forms of monumental style, and the more free and graceful peculiarities of domestic and social requirement. 
 
 When fornnng an almost imperishable lining to one of the principal chambers of the British senate himse, or inserted 
 in a marble chunney-piece beneath a roof of even humble pretensions— if its history, conditions, and processes be but 
 rightly studied by the designer — Mosaic will be found to constitute a beauteous embellishment and a graceful and 
 harmonious addition. 
 
 In concluding his notices of this interesting subject, the autlior feels that, scanty and miperfect as they may appear, 
 they would have been stiU leas worthy of attention but for the kindness of some personal friends, wfiose sympatiiy, 
 advice, and assistance, have supported hia energies, corrected his judgment, and fightened his labours. 
 
 0 
 
DESCEIPTION OF THE PLATES. 
 
 The Frontispiece, No. 1 — The vai'ion,s patterns whiiih toiripusc tliu omsimeiitiil border surrouiKling the title have 
 been selected fi-om churches at Rome and in its immediate vicinity. The exterior, exhibiting the union of porphyiy with 
 glass tesselaiion, is cojiied from a portion of the pulpit on the Epistle side of the Basilica of " San Lorenzo fuori le 
 Mura;" and the borders running along the top and bottom of the space "within are taken from a veiy curious tomb 
 now existing in the Church of Santa Maria in Aracteli, Rome — commemoriiting some member of the Savelli family. 
 
 Plate No. 2. — Fig. 1 exhibits a fragment of tlic pavement which once adorned the Churcli of San Marco at Rome. 
 It is a fine specimen of the Ojnis Alexandrinum, or marble tesselated ^vork, and is composed solely of the tiiree 
 materials — porphyry, serpentine, and wliite or slightly clouded marble — ^in grooves cut in slabs of the last of which the 
 porphyry and serpentine are embedded. Fig. 2 is a representation, full size, of one of the most frequently recurring 
 patterns in this variety of Mosaic, and has been introduced into this plate in order to furnish a just idea of the actual 
 scale of Fig. 1. It was copied from the pavement of the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome. 
 
 Plate No. 3. — Fig. 1 shows, to a half-fuU size scale, the effect of a small piece of very finely executed Opus Alexan- 
 drinum, which is now inserted in front of the high altar of " Santa Maria in Trastevere," Rome — a church wliich 
 boasts of liaving been the first dedicated to the " Blessed Virgin" in that city. Figs. 2 and 3 furnish us ivith speci- 
 mens of the common varieties of pattern used to fill in the grooves cut in the marble floors of the churclies, &c. 
 
 It is unnecessaiy, we hope, to remark, that in all our illustrations of this kind of Mosaic, the dark green colour 
 indicates serpentine, the purple porphyry, and the ground tints, the white or clouded marble, into which the two former 
 materials are inserted. 
 
 Plate No. 4. — Fig. 1 exliibits a small compartment of the floor of the Church of San Bartoloimneo, on the Island 
 of the Tiber, an interesting structure, rebuilt in 1113, under the Popedom of Paschal II. Figs. 2, 3, 4, have been 
 selected from the magnificent pavement of San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome. 
 
 Plate No. 5.— Fig. 1 displays a small portion of the Opus Alexandrinum to be found in the Ciiurch of S.S. Gio- 
 vanni e Paolo, Rome. It has evidently been removed from its original position, and relaid in that which it at present 
 occupies, being entirely surrounded with modern tile work. Fig. 2 is a very simple common pattern from the Church 
 
24 
 
 oi' J.n Mui'torana, ii.t Piil(.'nno. Figs. .*5, 4, have bean drawn from the tlooring of Santa Maria in Cosraedino, Rome — a 
 biiilihni: possessing strong claims to our notice in connexion with the history of Mosaic, since it was erected by Adnan I. 
 iu 782, expressly as a shelter for the Greek ecclesiastics expatriated in the Iconoclastic persecutions under Constantine 
 Copronymus. In connexion with the church was a school, (the " Scuola Greca,") and doubtless from that centre issued 
 most of the workmen whose labours adorned the principal religious ediiices erected at Home during the eightli and 
 ninth centuries. 
 
 Plate No. fl — Fig. 1 shows, to an inch and a quarter scale, one of tlie compartments, occupying an intercolumnar 
 space, in the nave of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. This pavement, in intricacy of pattern and general variety 
 of design, surpasses any other in Rome, but so much has it been remodelled and repaired, that it is now scarcely possible 
 to distinguish the original from the more modern work. • We feel inclined to beUeve that the centre of the fragment 
 engraved is a decided interpolation. Fig. 2 is a filling-in pattern from the same floor, and has been represented in its 
 actual size, in order to afford a clear idea of the dimension of its companion example. 
 
 Plate No. 7 is a feeble attempt to convey some notion of the beauty and elaboration of one of the finest specimens 
 of the Opus Alcxandrinum existing — the pavement of the present nave of the Basilica of San Lorenzo fiiori le Mura, 
 liome. Its (late is [irobably the end of the eighth century, when Pope Adrian I., the great patron of Mosaic work, 
 remodelled the ancient C'linreh of Pelagins II. It yet remains in very excellent preservation. 
 
 Plate Xo. 8 — Fig. 1 brmgs us to our first example of glasn tesselation. It i'orms a portion of the Epistle Ambo in 
 the same Basilica from which our last illustration was drawn, and takes its date, there is little doubt, from the same 
 period. Fig. 2 is a diaper pattern, from a panel in the frieze over the arcade in the Cloister of San Giovanni 
 Laterano. 
 
 Plate No. 0, continuing the series of specimens of glass iesselatinn, gives us, in Figs. 1, 2, 3, a curious illustration 
 of the mode in which the mediajval Mosaic workers occasionally blended mtli their "lavori di smalto," or fictilia, cubes 
 of the more precious stones, such as porphyry and serpentine. Fig. 1 is from the Cathedral at Monreale, near Palei-mo ; 
 Figs. 2 and 5 are from different articles of ancient church furniture in the Basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura; 
 Fig. 3 is from the Duomo at Palermo ; and Fig. 4 is a pattern filling -in a spiral groove in one of the lovely twisted 
 columns which decorate the fairy-hke cloisters of San Giovanni Latcrano. Fig. 5 possesses a peculiar interest to 
 Englishmen, in being almost precisely similar to some of the circular ornaments, fragments of wliich still remain, 
 incrusted on the tomb of Henry III, in Westminster Abbey. 
 
 Plate No. Ul furnishes, in Pigs. 1 and fi, charming .specimens of sunple designs from Monreale in Sicily; and, in 
 Figs. 2, 3, 4, presents us with some less playful products of Koraan ingenuity taken from the Basilica of San Lorenzo. 
 
 Plate No. 11 contains, in Figs. 1, 2, 4, three more examples oi glass tesselation from the same Church ; mid, in Fig. 3, 
 a modei-n restoration of an old pattern from the Duomo at Monreale, attached to which is a regular estflblishraent for 
 repairing and replacing tlie dilapidated Mosaic work of the walls, floor, and articles of church furniture. 
 
 Plate No. 12. — Fig. 1 is another piece of bordering from the same " Fabrica." Figs. 2, 3, 5, 0, arc from San 
 Lorenzo, and Fig. 4 is from the Cloisters of San Giovanni Lateratio. Figs. 7 and 9 are from the Cathedral at Palermo. 
 Fig. 8 is from the door-jamb of the Cathedral at Civita Caatellana. Fig. 10 is a small ornament running round the arch 
 
25 
 
 of the AjJse of the Church of San .Marco, Eome, and as well as its more ancient companion, Fig. 11— -wliicli is a 
 fragment from the Baptistery or Mausoleum of Santa Costanza — exliibits a decided taste for classical forai.s. 
 
 Plate No. 13. — Fig. 1 is taken from a tomb in the Cathedral at Naples, and exhibits tlie (Oriental principle so fully 
 and admirably carried out in Fig. 4 — which is a specimen taken from the remains of the Saracenic Palace, " La Ziza," at 
 Palermo — of allowing a ^vhite line to develop the geometrical base of the pattern, and at the same time of weaving the 
 other colours round and about, aa a beautiful accompaniment, hannonizing with, but not overpowering the original and 
 predominant idea. Fig. 2 is taken from the Basilica of San Giovanni Laterano, itome ; and Fig. 3 is from San Lorenzo, 
 without the walls of the same city. 
 
 Plate No. 14 presents us with the most elaborate example of this principle of design that the Author has been 
 enabled to procure. It was taken from the Khig's Seat in the Duomo at Monreale in Sicily. 
 
 In Plate No. 15, as well as in the following, No. U!, !in attempt has been made to convey some idea of the 
 exquisite eifect produced by glass tessdaiion in conjunction mth the architectural and formal pecuharities of the objects 
 it is usually employed to adorn. In Plate 15 the two beautiful columns on the right and left have been selected from 
 those whose elegant proportions grace the Cloisters of San Giovanni Laterano : they date probably from the days of the 
 Cosmati — the beginning of the thirteenth century. The two fragments occupying the centre of the plate have been 
 taken from San Lorenzo fuori le Mura, Rome, and may be attributed mth coniidence to a considerably earlier period— 
 to the days of Pope Adrian I., the end of the eighth centuiy. 
 
 Plate No. If! is a careful representation of one of the marble Pulpits remaining in the interesting Church of 
 Santa Maria in Aracceli, Rome. Though not so elaborate as those of San Lorenzo, these ambones develop, in 
 considerable dignity and much beauty, the primitive form of these essentials to Christian worship. 
 
 Plate No. 17 commences our series of illustrations of the architectural and conventional forms of glass ^fosaic, 
 and wdl furnisli, it is to be hoped, some notion of the excessive beauty of the original patterns elaborated by its means. 
 With the exception of the two smallest subjects on the plate, which have been taken from the Church of SS. Nereo ed 
 Achille at Rome, the whole of the sheet displays ornamental enrichments selected from the truly noble Cathedral at 
 Monreale, near Palermo. The sis larger examples at the top and bottom of the plate form the lining to the window- 
 jambs, and the remaining three are incrustations on the wall of the Church. 
 
 Plateh Nos. 18 and 19 exhibit a variety of those exquisite glass Mosaic decorations which adorn the Church oi 
 St. Mark at \'eniee. The careful examiner will be enabled to trace through them some, at least, of the vicissitudes that 
 have at various periods affected the pecuhar systems of conventional representation in orchnary use. It is believed that 
 an inspection of these Plates -^vill show that Mosaic has been made one of the most beantifid aa well as the most enduriiig 
 means of recortling the graceful fancies of the architect that human ingenuity has yet devised. 
 
 Plate No. 20. — Figs. 1, 2, 3, i, 5, 6, 7, 8, have been chosen from the lovely illuminations which confer so 
 extraordinarj' a value on the Byzantine copy of the Acts of the Apostles preserved in the Library of the Vatican. 
 They will ser\-e to develop, hy contrast with the preceding specimens of glass Mosaic, the general coherence of design 
 existing between the ornaments on vellum and those incrusted on the walls of the statehest churches, and demonstrate, 
 to the fullest extent, the Greek affection for gold grounds and dazzling yet liarmonious colouring. Fig. 9— the soffite of 
 
 n 
 
26 
 
 one of the arches of the Martovana Cliurcli, Palermo — has heeii mtroducctl to aid the comparison, and to intimate to 
 designers of structural embellishment in the present day, tliat much miglit be gained by adoptiiig a grace from that 
 ■which at first sight appears but Httle congruous to their art. It mny also suggest to designers upon paper tlie 
 advantage they would derive from learning to render, according to the lawa of their own vehicle of expression, some of 
 those beauties which charm us in a larger material fonn of enil)odiraent. 
 
 Plate No. 21 famishes a few more specimens of glass tesselation from the Cathedral at Salerno (Regno di Napoli), 
 the most interesting building of its class in the south of Italy. 
 
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