Byzantine Mosaic Tile

Byzantine design is about so much more than a simple tile.

Byzantine mosaic tile.

According to 1st century architect vitruvius the ideal. Byzantine mosaics are mosaics produced from the 4th to 15th centuries in and under the influence of the byzantine empire. That tradition was adopted by the norman kingdom of sicily in the 12th century by the eastern influenced republic of venice and among the rus in ukraine. With figures depicted against a glimmering gold background mosaics suggest an ethereal heavenly realm.

As the glass cools the metal in the matrix changes color and creates a pattern and sheen unique to each tile. As seen in two of the foremost works from his time the baptistery of the arians and the church of sant apollinare nuovo the gold background now dominates. Based on an ancient byzantine glassmaking technique the floor tile fuses metal and glass while the glass is still molten to create a mosaic that is as unique as it is timeless. In the mosaics of gelati kiev torcello venice monreale cefalù and palermo.

Our wide variety of mosaic tiles extends beyond our beautiful glass mosaic tiling. Mosaics were some of the most popular and historically significant art forms produced in the empire and they are still studied extensively by art historians. Some of the finest byzantine work of this period may be found outside the empire. The materials we fill our spaces with have the ability to affect our every day and evoke a sense of inspiration modernity or nostalgia.

Mosaic art flourished in the byzantine empire from the 6th to the 15th centuries. Apart from painted icons there were other varieties notably the mosaic and ceramic ones. During the byzantine period craftsmen started to widen the materials that could be turned into tesserae including gold and precious stones. Sculpture in the round the preferred medium for images of pagan deities disappeared in byzantium and was replaced by its aesthetic opposite.