Recurring patterns in Ceramic and Mosaic Arts in the Antiquity.

A pattern is a particular way in which something is done or organized, or in which something happens.

What is fascinating about them is that patterns seem to perdure possibly forever, once they have been set. 

This glazed tile, dated 875 - 850 BC is part of the collections of the British Museum. It was excavated from royal palace of the Assyrian city of Nimrud, which was first destroyed at the end of the 7th century BC and again by islamist terrorists in 2015.

The tile depicts an Assyrian king, possibly Ashurnasirpal II who reigned during the early 9th century BC, accompanied by soldiers and attendants.

Now what really got my interest when I first saw this picture was not the representation of another victorious king, (They never seem to represent losers. I wonder why ?) but the rounded decorative pattern of the border below the King.

A thousand year later Roman mosaicists laid this beautiful mosaic of a boxing scene from the Aeneid on the floor of a Gallo-Roman Villa in Villelaure (France) .

Look at the Borders... 1000 years separate them...

If you watch close, history does nothing but repeat 
itself... 


I'll be traveling to Europe for 3 weeks to visit my family and explore and study several Roman mosaics in France and build up my library of borders.  Stay tuned !

Frederic Lecut is a French mosaicist.

In 1992 he made Alabama his home.

His Art is about inspiring People.

You can contact him either 

by phone at (334) 798 1639 or email at 

frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com

You can also subscribe to his

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The Queen of the Night

Today my main topic won't be mosaic, but the beautiful Queen of the Night...

I met her on June 8 at the British Museum, but had known her for a long long time, and was thrilled to meet her in person for the first time.

Interestingly enough, the Sumerian Goddess from about 1750 BC comes 1300 years later to haunt Odysseus on a Greek Crater from around 450 BC.

1600 years later as a funerary mermaid.

and 2100 years later on a beautiful Roman mosaic in Tunisia, as a mermaid again, taunting Odysseus...

So you see here, we have an old symbol, sometimes we call it an archetype, which has survived 2000 years, and somehow is still alive in collective memories... 

 

Kongelige Bibliotek, Gl. kgl. S. 3466 8º, Folio 37r

That is why studying Art, History and Mythology  might help us understand present times. There is a reason why dictators don't want us to study humanities (or finance education systems which would teach these materials). Humanities allow us to understand what people did it in the past, why they did it, what happened to them as a consequence, and may help us make sure  we won't get fooled again...

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see some of my own mosaics on my site mosaicblues.

 

If you are interested by my work in general  or if you would simply like to drop me a line, please 

contact me by email at frederic.lecut@mosaic.com   

or by phone at (334) 798 1639.  You can also

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

The Standard of Ur

I was so excited to visit the British Museum last week. I did not have much time and had to hurry through a few rooms mostly Western European, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern antiquities...

Now sometimes you hear, and see pictures of famous pieces of Art, and you think you know a lot about them, like the Mona Lisa, the Parthenon, the Eiffel Tower, but when you actually SEE them with your own eyes, it's different, because you can actually relate to them. One point that has often surprised me is that I had false assumptions about the size of the work, or object.

I remember waking toward the Pont du Gard once - an aqueduct built by the Romans during the 1st century, and realizing how enormous that bridge was. Or when I went to see the Girl with the Pearl Earring in Atlanta a few years ago. I realized how small this paining was...

So I had heard about the Standard of Ur for a long time, I had even blogged about it a while ago, and I had imagined that piece much bigger than it actually is. 

The four sides are decorated with inlaid mosaic scenes made from shell, red limestone and Lapis Lazuli set in Bitumen.

The 2 main panels display War and Peace at the time of Sumer.

On the "War" panel the king stands in the middle taller than any other figure, his head projecting out of the frame to emphasize his supreme status. 

On the "Peace" panel he sits on a carved stool attending a Banquet, faced by other participants, holding cups raised in their right hand. It could be the banquet celebrating victory over other kingdoms.

Here is a short video I shot of this remarkable piece I was so happy to get to see in person !

This type of mosaic is called Opus Sextile or Sectile. In this technique materials are cut and inlaid into panels, walls or floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials are marble, mother of pearl, and glass.  

Basilica of Junius Bassus - Rome, Italy - 331 AD

 

I am a modern mosaic artist with a deep admiration for ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Arts. You can see some of my own mosaics on my site mosaicblues.

 

If you are interested by my work in general  or if you would simply like to drop me a line, please 

contact me by email at frederic.lecut@mosaicblues.com

or by phone at (334) 798 1639.  You can also 

SUBSCRIBE to my

NEWSLETTER

 

The Oldest Mosaic.

Cone Mosaic are the oldest type of mosaics known in the World. They were used in Southern Mesopotamia (present day Iraq) to decorate monumental raw mud-brick Palaces and Temples built between 3500 and 3000 BC.

This Cone Mosaic is formed by small cones made of baked clay which, pointed end first, were pressed tightly together into a wall coated with a thick layer of wet plaster. The flat ends of the cones were painted black, red, and white. 

Some of the most impressive examples are found at Uruk but this technique of decoration has also been found in many other cities such as Ur and Eridu as well as sites like Habuba Kabira in modern Syria.

The decorative patterns generally basic geometric shapes : lozenges, triangles, and straight and zigzag bands. 

It has been suggested that such designs were possibly based on patterns found in wickerwork and on textiles.

Such work was not only decorative but protective. The cones made of hard baked clay were protecting the raw mud-brick outer walls and pillars against erosion from wind and water during the cool and wet winters of Mesopotamia.

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