Mosaics in the Medieval World
Mosaics in the Medieval World
$229.00
USDIn this book, Liz James offers a comprehensive history of wall mosaics produced in the European and Islamic middle ages. Taking into account a wide range of issues, including style and iconography, technique and material, and function and patronage, she examines mosaics within their historical context. She asks why the mosaic was such a popular medium and considers how mosaics work as historical 'documents' that tell us about attitudes and beliefs in the medieval world. The book is divided into two part. Part I explores the technical aspects of mosaics, including glass production, labour and materials, and costs. In Part II, James provides a chronological history of mosaics, charting the low and high points of mosaic art up until its abrupt end in the late middle ages. Written in a clear and engaging style, her book will serve as an essential resource for scholars and students of medieval mosaics.
- The only book to offer a synthesis of mosaics in the Middle Ages
- Discusses how mosaics were made and sets them into a chronological framework
- Includes high-quality and unusual colour images of the mosaics discussed
Reviews & endorsements
'This fabulous book is a great achievement. The 166 splendid color illustrations (many previously unpublished) alone would make the volume of great value, but James (Univ. of Sussex, UK) also provides a rich scholarly apparatus of footnotes and bibliography and a fine list of all extant mosaics, arranged by period and country. Written with panache, the book wears its erudition lightly and is accessible to a wide readership. Essential.' L. Nees, Choice
'This stunning new book will change the way you look at medieval mosaics … The attention to detail and to making this book useable, with indices, lists of sites and bespoke maps, ensure that this will be a much-consulted book for anyone working on the late antique, early medieval and medieval built environment.' Caroline Goodson, Medieval Archaeology
Product details
September 2017Adobe eBook Reader
9781108514552
0 pages
167 b/w illus. 161 colour illus. 12 maps 1 table
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
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Table of Contents
- Part I. Making Wall Mosaics: Introduction to Part I
- 1. Making glass tesserae
- 2. Making mosaics
- 3. The business of mosaics
- 4. The value of mosaics
- Part II. Mosaics by Century: Introduction to Part II
- 5. In the beginning: wall mosaics in the fourth century
- 6. Types or prototypes? Mosaics in the fifth century
- 7. Emperors, kings, popes and bishops: mosaics in the sixth century
- 8. New beginnings? Islam, Byzantium and Rome: mosaics in the seventh and eighth centuries
- 9. Medium and message: ninth- and tenth-century mosaics
- 10. A universal language? Eleventh-century mosaics
- 11. Incorrigibly plural: mosaics in the twelfth century
- 12. Men and mosaics: the thirteenth century
- 13. Boom and bust: mosaics in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
- Conclusion
- Appendix of sites
- Bibliography.
