![]() These are dateable to the third century B.C. Some of the earliest were found in Macedonia and were made out of pebbles and shells. It is believed that mosaics originated in the Far East. ![]() During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, these plaques were often made in Rome, and exported to London or Paris where they were mounted in jewelry. These mosaics could be fairly large panels or plaques inset on table tops or mounted on the wall, but more commonly they were made into much smaller oval or circular plaques that were worn as jewelry, incorporated into pendants, necklaces, earrings, brooches, and rings. The mosaicist uses tweezers to apply hundreds, sometimes thousands, of tiny tesserae to create incredibly detailed and beautiful scenes. It is an extremely laborious and painstaking art form. Once the mastic has hardened, the gaps between the tesserae are filled with colored wax and the whole picture is polished to achieve a smooth and even surface. The metal or stone supports are then filled with mastic or cement upon which the tesserae are carefully placed and arranged into the desired image. During the mid-nineteenth century, black Belgian marble or “Noir Belge” was carved out and used as the background or base. After cooling, it is cut into hundreds of minute cubes or tesserae and arranged on a copper or gold tray to create a scene, portrait, or landscape. The smalto is pulled into rods or threads, called filati(spun enamel), and then left to cool. ![]() The tesserae are mosaic pieces made from an opaque vitreous glass or enamel in a multitude of colors called smalto. ![]() Micromosaics are a type of mosaic created from tiny fragments of glass, called tesserae. ![]()
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