"Abaciscus" redirects here. For the moth genus, see Abaciscus (moth).
A tessera (plural: tesserae, diminutive tessella) is an individual tile, usually formed in the shape of a square, used in creating a mosaic. It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus.
Apse mosaic of the Virgin Mother and Child, Hagia Sophia, featuring intensely luminous golden tesserae
The oldest known tesserae date to the 3rd millennium BC, discovered in the ancient city of Shahdad in Kerman province, Iran.[citation needed]
In early antiquity, mosaics were formed from naturally formed colored pebbles. By roughly 200 BC cut stone tesserae were being used in Hellenistic-Greek mosaics. For instance, a large body of surviving material from the Hellenistic period can be found in the mosaics of Delos, Greece, dating to the late 2nd century BC. Ancient Roman decorative mosaic panels and floor mosaics were also produced during the 2nd century BC, particularly at sites such as Pompeii. Marble or limestone were cut into small cubes and arranged into representational designs and geometric patterns.
Later, tesserae were made from colored glass, or clear glass backed with metal foils. The Byzantines used tesserae with gold leaf, in which case the glass pieces were flatter, with two glass pieces sandwiching the gold. This produced a golden reflection emanating from in between the tesserae as well as their front, causing a far richer and more luminous effect than even plain gold leaf would create.
Contemporary tesserae
Wooden block with hammer and hardy for cutting mosaic tiles.
Vitreous glass
These are manufactured glass tiles made to a uniform shape and size. They are made by molten glass being poured into trays and fired. An imprint of grooves is made on their underside for help with adhesion to cement when fixing.
Ceramic tesserae
These are the cheapest range of bought materials and can be glazed or unglazed. The glazed ceramic tiles have the color painted onto the top of the clay and then fired to a high temperature in a kiln. The unglazed or body glazed version has the color mixed into the wet clay so the color runs through them. They vary in size.[1]
Smalti
This is the classic mosaic material. It is opaque glass fired in large slabs in a kiln and then hand cut into small cubes with a hammer and hardy chisel. Their irregular finish makes them a wonderful reflector of light and this material is best used working straight into cement. It is produced in Venice and sold by colour and weight.[2][3]
Gold smalti
This tile is made with gold and silver leaf sandwiched between two layers of glass and fired twice in the kiln to embed in the metal.
Mirror
Mirror fragments are available as offcuts from glass cutting shops.
Stained glass
Opaque stained glass comes as large sheets that can be cut into smaller sections with a glasscutter.
Household ceramic tiles and china
Various household objects, including pottery shards, can be used, especially in trencadís or pique assiette technique.
^Govind, Ranjani. "Small tiles, big tales". The Hindu. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
^Menhem, Chantal (24 June 2015). . Mozaico. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
External links
Media related to Tessera at Wikimedia Commons
January 26, 2023
tessera, other, uses, disambiguation, abaciscus, redirects, here, moth, genus, abaciscus, moth, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challeng. For other uses see Tessera disambiguation Abaciscus redirects here For the moth genus see Abaciscus moth This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Tessera news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message A tessera plural tesserae diminutive tessella is an individual tile usually formed in the shape of a square used in creating a mosaic It is also known as an abaciscus or abaculus The unique illuminating effect of golden tesserae Cappella Palatina in Palermo Sicily 12th century A mosaic made from tesserae in St Peter s Basilica Vatican State Italy A close up of the bottom left corner of the picture above Close inspection of the full picture reveals the individual tesserae Contents 1 Historical tesserae 2 Contemporary tesserae 2 1 Vitreous glass 2 2 Ceramic tesserae 2 3 Smalti 2 4 Gold smalti 2 5 Mirror 2 6 Stained glass 2 7 Household ceramic tiles and china 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistorical tesserae Edit Apse mosaic of the Virgin Mother and Child Hagia Sophia featuring intensely luminous golden tesserae The oldest known tesserae date to the 3rd millennium BC discovered in the ancient city of Shahdad in Kerman province Iran citation needed In early antiquity mosaics were formed from naturally formed colored pebbles By roughly 200 BC cut stone tesserae were being used in Hellenistic Greek mosaics For instance a large body of surviving material from the Hellenistic period can be found in the mosaics of Delos Greece dating to the late 2nd century BC Ancient Roman decorative mosaic panels and floor mosaics were also produced during the 2nd century BC particularly at sites such as Pompeii Marble or limestone were cut into small cubes and arranged into representational designs and geometric patterns Later tesserae were made from colored glass or clear glass backed with metal foils The Byzantines used tesserae with gold leaf in which case the glass pieces were flatter with two glass pieces sandwiching the gold This produced a golden reflection emanating from in between the tesserae as well as their front causing a far richer and more luminous effect than even plain gold leaf would create Contemporary tesserae Edit Wooden block with hammer and hardy for cutting mosaic tiles Vitreous glass Edit These are manufactured glass tiles made to a uniform shape and size They are made by molten glass being poured into trays and fired An imprint of grooves is made on their underside for help with adhesion to cement when fixing Ceramic tesserae Edit These are the cheapest range of bought materials and can be glazed or unglazed The glazed ceramic tiles have the color painted onto the top of the clay and then fired to a high temperature in a kiln The unglazed or body glazed version has the color mixed into the wet clay so the color runs through them They vary in size 1 Smalti Edit This is the classic mosaic material It is opaque glass fired in large slabs in a kiln and then hand cut into small cubes with a hammer and hardy chisel Their irregular finish makes them a wonderful reflector of light and this material is best used working straight into cement It is produced in Venice and sold by colour and weight 2 3 Gold smalti Edit This tile is made with gold and silver leaf sandwiched between two layers of glass and fired twice in the kiln to embed in the metal Mirror Edit Mirror fragments are available as offcuts from glass cutting shops Stained glass Edit Opaque stained glass comes as large sheets that can be cut into smaller sections with a glasscutter Household ceramic tiles and china Edit Various household objects including pottery shards can be used especially in trencadis or pique assiette technique See also EditTessellation describes tessellation patterns Mosaic describes techniques for assembling tesserae into a designReferences Edit Mosaic Tiles Guide Monday 12 April 2021 Govind Ranjani Small tiles big tales The Hindu Retrieved 25 September 2015 Menhem Chantal 24 June 2015 Numerous Tiles and Tesserae Making Mosaics Mozaico Archived from the original on 25 September 2015 Retrieved 25 September 2015 External links Edit Media related to Tessera at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tessera amp oldid 1084153290, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
