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Furthermore, mosaic is interpreted as an art form that uses small pieces of colored

stone and glass, called tessera (plural: tesserae), to create designs or pictures set in
cement. In antiquity, mosaics were created primarily to decorate architectural surfaces

such as floors, walls, and vaults. Examples have been found in a wide range of
contexts, including palaces, houses, baths, mausoleums, synagogues, and churches

(Olbrantz, 2009, p.3). Additionally, Piermattei (n.d.) states that mosaic is a technique

of decorating architectural surfaces using pebbles, small worked stones, terracotta,
and pasta vitrea (glass paste), which are juxtaposed and fixed on a layer of plaster or

other binding materials. These are applied to smooth surfaces decorated with
geometric motifs and/or figures. Mosaic decoration is particularly suited to large,

even surfaces such as pavements, walls, vaults, and ceilings (Piermattei, n.d.).

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The origins of the mosaic art form are very ancient and date back to the 4 and 3
millennium BC where a mosaic decoration created with small terracotta wedges
painted in red, white and black were found in the Mesopotamian area (Piermattei,

n.d.). After the early fourth century, Christians began decorating churches with
mosaics. They introduced the use of glass tesserae which were often backed with gold

and thus had a shimmering quality (New Standard Encyclopedia: 542). The Oxford

Companion to Art states that “mosaics of a kind were made 5,000 years ago by the
Sumerians, who ornamented their houses and temples with cones of coloured

terracotta sunk into the mud plaster of the outer wall” (The Oxford Companion to Art,
1978: 743).

Furthermore, the mosaic art form has developed through various periods, adapting to
different subjects and features. The Encyclopedia Americana states that “the mosaic

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technique continued to be practiced in Italy from the Renaissance through the 19
century and sporadically elsewhere, it was largely restricted to repairs, virtuoso

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reproductions of paintings of paintings, and small decorative panels. In the 20
century there has been a revival of mosaic in two very different forms. On one hand,
mosaic has reappeared as an industrialized process for decorating bathrooms, garden

pools, swimming pools, and other facilities that require water proof, hygienic
surfaces”. Moreover, The Encyclopedia Americana states that that “mosaic has made

a spectacular return as an elegant, highly visible way of decorating the large blank
exteriors of modern buildings” (The Encyclopedia Americana, 1990: 485).

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