Handcut Mosaic  


Mosaic art is a centuries old art form using tiles of glass, ceramic, stones (pebbles) and all manner of small objects, in a decorative technique that creates geometric or figurative designs by arranging small fragment in which small tiles are used to create a pattern or picture.

The ancient mosaic technique was a good deal more complicated than modern techniques, The Greeks began cutting natural stone into small triangles, squares, and rectangles called tesserae, replacing the pebble mosaics originally used to cover their floors. Today, the term tessera describes all types of materials used to make mosaics. This style was embraced by the Romans.

The next surge came during the Byzantine era, from the 5th to the 15th centuries. It was during this period that mosaics reached their pinnacle of quality and excellence. No longer confined to discrete panels, mosaics were created covering entire walls and ceilings in buildings throughout Europe.

In Mean time we use stone slabs, These slabs are chipped into tesserae by hand ,not by machines as a result the tesserae differ slightly in shape, mostly squares of about 1 centimeter.

The pieces were placed one next to the other with very little space between so as not to show the underlying base, We use the smaller tesserae where the image requires more detail, and we use stones with many shades of color so that we can match them together to create shadows and textures in the mosaic.

Thanks to the hand of the artisan, mosaics are very much alive and enjoying new developments in materials and techniques. The artisan is the key to success in a world.

Mosaics became so popular that they were used in the decoration of even the most modest homes.