Mosaics forced to use recycled glass in late antiquity

[guy]

 

Roman mosaics are famous for their beauty and vibrant colors and detail. Tesserae were the small pieces of stone, glass, ceramic, or other hard material cut to fit into the mosaic.

Because glass tesserae were more more fragile, they were used more sparingly in floor mosaics. The did, however, provide mosaics the blues, reds, and greens that aren’t usually found in more natural stones. They were more common in wall mosaics.

Tessarae from late antiquity floor mosaics in Halikarnassos (in Anatolia, Turkey) were analyzed. 

 

Samples of tessarae examined

 

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"I received 19 mosaic tesserae for analysis in my lab in Denmark. Of these, seven were of glass in different colors; purple, yellow, red, and deep red. My conclusion is that six of them are probably made of recycled glass," says Kaare Lund Rasmussen.

 

"We were able to distinguish between base glass from Egypt and base glass from the Middle East and also, we could determine which elements were added by the ancient craftsmen to color the glasses and to make them opaque, which was preferred at the time," he says.

It is of course difficult to extrapolate from only seven glass mosaic tesserae, but the new results fit very well with the picture of Anatolia in late antiquity. As the power of the Roman Empire waned, trade routes were closed or rerouted, which probably led to a shortage of goods in many places -- including raw materials for glass production in Anatolia.

 

 

 

The re-use of materials (in this glass) would be indicative of an Empire in decay. The economic supply chain was disrupted in late antiquity, forcing craftsman to use recycled glass as opposed to either locally produced or distant sources.

 

 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220725105611.htm

 

https://www.britannica.com/art/tessera-mosaic

 

https://heritagesciencejournal.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40494-022-00697-3

 

Edited August 2, 2022 by guy