| Vol. I. | September, 1895. | No. 9. |
The pulpits and ambos chosen for the illustrations in this issue ofThe Brochures are mainly interesting fortheir wonderful mosaic decorationswhich are among the finest of their kind which have ever been executed.The work of the family of Cosmati, by whose name the Roman mosaic orinlay of this description is known, such as that in plate LXXI, is similarin design and method of execution to that shown in the otherplates. There is one point, however, in which the Roman work is quitedifferent. In Sicily and southern Italy the bands and borders ofgeometrical patterns are largely made up of glass or composition, whilethe Cosmati confined themselves to the use of colored marbles. In thesouth, and particularly in Sicily, gold is freely used, but this islacking in the work of the Cosmati. As a result of this difference inmaterial a wider range of color is possible in the southern mosaics thanin those of Rome; and this is especially noticeable in the use of blues,which give much of the character to the beautiful examples shown in ourplates, which we regret we cannot reproduce in color. The altar, pulpit,and bishop's throne in the churches of SS. Nerone ed Achille and S.Cesario in Rome may be taken as additional examples.
This is a form of decoration which may be found in many of the Byzantinechurches of the eleventh and twelfth centuries and also in the Tuscanchurches of the same epoch, notably in the Baptistery at Pisa and in thechurch of San Miniato al Monte in Florence.
The mosaic floors, dados, and solid railings of the Palermitan monumentsall seem to belong to this class: a ground of gray or white marble slabswith large panels of colored marble, mosaic bands of geometrical patternlet into the marble, and sometimes a plain framework of one member witha carved row of conventional leaves. In Palermo a grayish veined Greekmarble similar to that used in Venice and Ravenna was almost exclusivelyused as a background. It formed a most admirable setting for the inlaidmarble mosaics which were laid in rebated panels in the marble slabs,making a perfectly smooth surface. In the floor mosaics green serpentineand red or purple porphyry are the usual colors besides the gray, whilebrighter reds, gold, blues, white, and a variety of other glasses(smalti) are employed with the serpentine and porphyry in the mosaicson walls, pulpits, and screens.
In all of the work referred to above, the separate pieces of marble orglass are carefully shaped to fit the patterns they are intended toform, and in this respect differ from the Byzantine and other wallmosaics, and from the earlier Roman mosaic pavements such as those whichare familiar in the Pompeiian buildings. In the latter the shape andoften the size of the pieces making up the pattern were of comparativelylittle importance, and the pieces were imbedded in a matrix which filledup the interstices and gave a background of neutral color.
The marble pavements, made up of discs, squares, and other geometricalforms of colored marbles surrounded by bands or borders of a smallerscale, were similar in design to some of the mosaics shown in ourplates. This work is known as Opus Alexandrinum and is familiar from thepavements of St. Mark's and the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli inVenice.