-
absorbent paper
- a
paper used to make casts of mosaics, when soaked with water it
becomes plastic and sticks to mosaic surfaces perfectly
-
adhesive
- see
binder
-
air-setting mortar
- a
mixture of water, aggregate and a non-hydraulic
binder which sets in air but is dissolved by water such as lime
or gypsum plaster.
-
andamento
- the
direction of the rows of tesserae; horizontal, circular, or sinuous
lines
-
artistic glass mosaic
-
see smalti
-
aventurine
- type
of glass paste containing sparkling gold colored particles.
Vitreous mosaics containing aventurine have a fine gold grain on the
surface. Exclusively employed as wall decoration.
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background
- the
area surrounding a figure. For example white or black on floor
mosaics or gold on murals. The tesserae can either be set in
straight rows or follow the contours of the figure.
-
bedding mortar
- a
layer of mortar which makes up the foundation of a mural or floor
mosaic
-
binder
- a
substance used to bind particles together, ensuring consistency and
solidification to the final product. The process of setting can
be
through the loss or absorption of moisture or by a chemical
reaction. Binders most often used in mosaic are limes, cements,
natural & synthetic resins.
-
blue frit
- a
blue pigment made by heating together silica, a copper compound,
calcium carbonate and natron. The colored compound was transported
in pellets and used in shell mosaics of the 2nd half of the 1st
century B.C.
-
bozzetto
- a
design reduced to a scale suitable for showing to client. The
process know as squaring up is used to help transfer the smaller
drawing to the full-size
cartoon.
-
burnt lime
- a
caustic substance that is prepared by burning calcium carbonate
limestone at approximately 900 deg. Celsius. At these high
temperatures carbon dioxide is driven off and the limestone is
converted to quick lime.
-
Byzantine glass mosaic
-
see smalti
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-
cartoon
- the
full-size drawing on which the final mosaic is based. The cartoon is
usually drawn onto brown paper in full color and detail, it is then
transferred to the surface to be worked on by the
pouncing technique or simply traced over the main lines with a
stylus.
-
caustic lime
- see
burnt lime
-
cement
- see
binder
-
cement mortar
- a
mixture of approximately three parts sand to one part Portland
cement with water.
-
chip mosaic
-
mosaic formed from irregular chippings of stone, usually white in
color.
-
chopping machine
- used
for cutting stone and smalti into
tesserae. It has two blades, the bottom one being fixed while
the top one is moved by a wheel so that it falls exactly over the
fixed blade.
-
commercial glass tile
-
see vitreous glass tile
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emblema
- a
figured mosaic panel normally of small size. It is worked separately
in the workshop either on a slab of marble or a terra cotta tray
with
a raised edge as a frame. Emblemata (pl.)were then set into floor
or wall mosaics made on the spot with a simple geometric design
in
tessellatum or sectile work. These panels were made in the style
of paintings or or directly imitated paintings using minute
tesserae (up to 50 per sq.. cm.)
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flat headed nails
- to
help plaster to bind to a wall, especially in cupolas, strong nails
with large flat heads were hammered between the bricks so that the
protruding heads acted as binders for the wet plaster.
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-
glass mosaic
-
see smalti
Top
- hardibacker
- A durable, stable and moisture
resistant cement backerboard Immune to Water Damage, won't rot,
swell or deteriorate
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intarsia
- A
decorative technique in wood or stone in which pieces of different
color and equal thickness are cut to the shape according to the
design and then attached to a support.
-
inlay
- see
intarsia
-
interstice
- the
space between each
tesserae, which is filled with grout
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-
joint
- see
interstice
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Top
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mortar
- a
mixture of
binder, aggregate and water, which will set hard over a period
of time
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Top
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-
pouncing
- a
technique used to transfer the design on a
cartoon directly to the work surface. The design is pricked
through along the contours and then pounced with charcoal dust so
that the design is left on the surface underneath. The holes can then
be lined up to have the complete design on the setting bed.
-
pigment
-
(a) a substance added to the glass paste to give it color. It
is usually a mix of metal oxides and salts. (b)a substance
use to give color to limestone based
binders: either white or
colored marble dust, brick dust or
other types of colored sand can be added to the
mortar mix.
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-
quicklime
- see
burnt lime
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-
rainbow style
-
style of mosaic where the colors of tesserae are arranged in
diagonal sequence instead of rows
-
rosin
-
Natural resin obtained as a solid residue from the distillation of
crude turpentine from the sap of pine trees. Used as a mosaic
binder in ancient Greece and Byzantine times.
-
rotino
- A
small grinding wheel turned by hand. It is used for shaping
tesserae so that they join together perfectly.
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sectile
-
literally 'cut'; commonly used in the phrase opus sectile to signify
a surface decoration obtained by cutting pieces of stone to special
geometric or other shapes.
-
smalti
-
smalti refers to the colored vitreous paste from which
tesserae for wall mosaics are obtained. It is basically ordinary
glass colored with metal oxides. The molten glass is pressed flat
to form the circular discs known as pizze. These are broken up into
tesserae after they have cooled. Smalti is weather resistant and
easy to cut, its choice of colors is nearly unlimited and they vary
according to the type of oxide used in their making.
-
statumen
-
layer of rubble underneath the mortar bedding for a mosaic pavement
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-
tessera
- the
basic unit of mosaic. A small piece of glass or stone, or any other
material suitable for mosaic work, cut to a square, rectangular,
triangular or other regular shape.(pl.- tesserae)
-
tessellarius
-
craftsman who specialized in
tessellatum
-
tessellatum
-
tessellated; commonly used in the phrase opus tessellatum to
distinguish floor mosaic from wall mosaic and from opus sectile
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underpainting
- a
fresco painting on the top plaster coat when the mortar is still
damp. This full size model was in full color and served as a guide
for the mosaic setters when fixing the tesserae. Red was a
substitute for gold.
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Venetian glass mosaic
-
see smalti
-
vermiculatum
-
literally 'worm like', commonly used to describe the technique of
pictorial mosaics made with minute tesserae
-
vitreous glass tile
- a
mosaic glass used as a building material. The glass paste is
basically the same as smalti, but the range of colors available is
limited. Its reflective qualities are not as good. The making of
vitreous glass is almost identical to that of smalti, except the
vitreous pancakes are cut up into squares (approx. 2x2cm) by
machine. These square tesserae are then mounted onto paper, which is
stripped off after the backs of the tesserae have been applied to
the work surface. Vitreous glass can also be supplied separately.
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'This
glossary is based on the excellent book 'A Technical-Historical
Glossary of Mosaic Art' by Manuela Farneti (Gratsi
Mosaic Matters)
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