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OverviewA beautifully illustrated study of mosaic art in Greco-Roman Egypt The art of the mosaic was developed by the Greeks, notably within the royal court of Macedonia, and was initially unknown to the Egyptians. Macedonian mosaicists then established busy workshops in the capital, Alexandria, and in the new towns of Greek Egypt. Under the stimulus of commissions from the Ptolemaic court, these workshops soon showed that they were capable of innovation. Beginning with pebbles, they then used tesserae of different sizes, and adopted new materials (glass, faience, paint) in order to transpose onto the floor images from grand paintings, which was the major art form of the time and was characterized by the vivid use of color. Alexandrian mosaicists were at the forefront of creativity during the Hellenistic period and their influence spread around the Mediterranean. After the Roman conquest of Egypt they adapted to the tastes of their new sponsors and to changes in architecture and were able to retain an important place within this art as it developed across the entire empire, in Rome and from east to west. The Mosaics of Alexandria provides the first overview of the mosaics and pavements of Egypt that were created between the end of the fourth century BC and the sixth century AD. It presents a selection of some seventy mosaics and pavements from Alexandria and Greco-Roman Egypt. Generally little known and more often than not unpublished, these works are illustrated here in full color, some for the first time. The aim is to better understand the artistic and artisanal production of a type of decoration that played an important role within the living environment of the ancients. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Anne-Marie Guimier-Sorbets , Colin Clement , Nicolas Morand , Denis WeidmannPublisher: American University in Cairo Press Imprint: American University in Cairo Press ISBN: 9781649030740ISBN 10: 1649030746 Pages: 256 Publication Date: 01 October 2021 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Hardback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In stock  We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately. Table of ContentsPreface 9 A Brief History of the Mosaic 13 What Is a Mosaic? 13 The First Greek Mosaics 13 Sources of Inspiration and Applied Techniques 13 The Development of the Mosaic in Ptolemaic Alexandria 14 Spotlight 1. Mortar Floors 16 Spotlight 2. Mortar Floors with Stone Chips and Plaques 18 Chapter 1: The First Mosaics of Alexandria 21 The Oldest Mosaic of Alexandria 21 The Hunter Surrounded by Wild Animals 21 Spotlight 3. Floor Techniques: Mosaics of Pebbles and Tesserae, Lead Strips 22 Spotlight 4. A Mythical Animal: The Griffin 28 The Little Hunters of Shatby 29 Spotlight 5: The Animals of the Hunting Erotes Mosaic 39 Chapter 2: Imitating Painting, Color Conquers 43 The Royal Portraits of Thmuis 43 Spotlight 6. The Use of Faience 46 Mosaics from the Palaces of Alexandria 51 Spotlight 7. The Use of Large Regular Tesserae 60 Chapter 3: Techniques and Style 67 The Hellenistic Era: New Motifs, Added Color 67 Polychrome swastika meander with squares in perspective 67 Cubes in perspective 67 Spotlight 8. Origins and Development of a Motif: The Palm Trunk (Stipe) Garland 68 Fleurons made of bipartite leaves 70 The gorgoneion 70 Spotlight 9. Egyptian Blue, Revealed by VIL Photography 72 The gorgoneion in the center of a fleuron 77 The Imperial Period 82 Evolving techniques and materials 82 The choice of motifs, their treatment, and the composition of the pavements 82 The origins and evolution of a mosaic motif: The guilloche 84 Continuity and innovation in the types of mosaic and flooring 88 Chapter 4: The Iconography of Mosaics 91 Mythological Scenes 91 When a satyr meets a nymph 91 Lycurgus and Ambrosia 93 Alpheus and Arethusa 95 A Taste for Representations of Animals 97 The birds 97 The pavement of the birds at Kom al-Dikka 99 A bird emblema 102 Spotlight 10. The Birds of Rhodes 105 Fish 107 The popularity of polychrome animal panels 107 Nilotic Scenes and Other Aquatic Representations 108 Nilotic scenes of the Ptolemaic period 108 Nilotic scenes of the imperial period 108 The marine mosaic with Erotes 118 Chapter 5: Mosaics in Their Architectural Context 123 Baths in the Fayoum and Upper Egypt in the Ptolemaic Period 123 The Zenon archive and the baths of the House of Diotimos 123 The Greek baths of Diospolis Parva and Karnak 123 Mosaic Decoration in Houses of the Imperial Period 127 The Villa of the Birds in Kom al-Dikka 127 The House of Medusa on the Diana Theater site 129 Chapter 6: The Organization of Production 139 Where and How Did the Mosaicist Work? 139 The Emblema Technique and Mixed Laying Technique 139 Hellenistic emblemata 139 Spotlight 11. Ptolemais, Cyrenaica, Three Alexandrian emblemata from the Hellenistic Period 140 Emblemata of the imperial period 143 Spotlight 12. The Workshop of the Medusa emblemata from the Diana Theater Site 144 Mixed laying technique 145 Opus Sectile 146 Did Alexandrians practice opus sectile in the Ptolemaic period? 147 Sectilia pavimenta of the imperial period 148 Mural panels in opus sectile of the Late Roman period 156 Chapter 7: Late Antiquity: Pagan and Christian Contexts 159 In Alexandria: The Mosaic of Sultan Hussein Street 159 In the Sinai Region: The Mosaics of Shaykh Zuweid and of Pelusium 163 Middle Egypt: The Mosaic of Antinoopolis 170 Mosaics in the Christian Context 170 The monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai 170 Alexandria and the Mareotid: An archaeological vacuum 173 Kellia: a conservation zone for the decor 173 Mosaics reproduced in paint in the world of the desert hermits, by Denis Weidmann 173 An opus sectile of glass plaques, by Denis Weidmann 179 Chapter 8: The Role of Alexandria in the History of the Ancient Mosaic 181 The Hellenistic Period: Alexandrian Workshops outside Egypt 181 The Nilotic mosaic of Palestrina 181 The mosaics of the House of the Faun at Pompeii 182 Alexander and Darius 183 Nilotic panels 185 Garland with masks 185 Symplegma 186 Dionysus on a tiger 186 The lion 186 Doves 189 Xenia, cat, and bird 189 A seascape with fauna 189 Floors of plaques and opera sectilia 191 Other Alexandrian elements in the House of the Faun 194 Alexandria’s Role during the Imperial Period 197 Chapter 9: At the Dawn of the Third Millennium . . . the Mosaic Art Blooms Again in Alexandria 201 Notes. 212 Catalogue of the Mosaics 215 Appendices 234 Concordances 237 Bibliographic References 241 Image Credits 253 Acknowledgments 256Reviews"""An unprecedented exploration . . . This volume is easily browsed and could serve as a reference book on mosaic technique, iconography, architectural context, and workshop production. Included are never-before-published pictures of mosaics and an interesting glimpse of contemporary mosaics. . . Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers.""--CHOICE ""Handsome. . . . will reward the reader with arresting visual images presented with the author's infectious enthusiasm for her subject, and the breadth of knowledge that underlies it.""--Current World Archaeology" An unprecedented exploration . . . This volume is easily browsed and could serve as a reference book on mosaic technique, iconography, architectural context, and workshop production. Included are never-before-published pictures of mosaics and an interesting glimpse of contemporary mosaics. . . Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. --CHOICE Author InformationAnne-Marie Guimier-Sorbets is professor emerita of archaeology and Greek history of art at the University of Paris-Nanterre and a specialist in Greek architecture and architectural décor. In collaboration with the Centre d’Etudes Alexandrines over a period of some twenty-five years, she has authored numerous studies on Alexandrian archaeological material of domestic and funerary contexts. Since 2015, Guimier-Sorbets has served as president of the International Association for the Study of Ancient Mosaics. Colin Clement is a writer and translator who lives in Alexandria. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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