Research Catalog

Title

Mosaics of Alexandria : pavements of Greek and Roman Egypt / Anne-Marie Guimier-Sorbets ; with the collaboration of Alain Guimier, Nicolas Morand, and Denis Weidmann ; [English translation by Colin Clement].

Author

Guimier-Sorbets, Anne-Marie

Publication

• Cairo ; New York : The American University in Cairo Press, 2021.
• ©2021

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

• Guimier, Alain
• Morand, Nicolas
• Weidmann, Denis
• Clement, Colin

Description

256 pages : illustrations (some color), color maps, plans; 25 cm

Summary

"The art of the mosaic was developed by the Greeks, notably within the royal court of Macedonia, and was initially unknown to the Egyptians. Macedonian mosaicists then established busy workshops in the capital, Alexandria, and in the new towns of Greek Egypt. Under the stimulus of commissions from the Ptolemaic court, these workshops soon showed that they were capable of innovation. Beginning with pebbles, they then used tesserae of different sizes, and adopted new materials (glass, faience, paint) in order to transpose onto the floor images from grand paintings, which was the major art form of the time and was characterized by the vivid use of color. Alexandrian mosaicists were at the forefront of creativity during the Hellenistic period and their influence spread around the Mediterranean. After the Roman conquest of Egypt they adapted to the tastes of their new sponsors and to changes in architecture and were able to retain an important place within this art as it developed across the entire empire, in Rome and from east to west. The Mosaics of Alexandria provides the first overview of the mosaics and pavements of Egypt that were created between the end of the fourth century BC and the sixth century AD. It presents a selection of some seventy mosaics and pavements from Alexandria and Greco-Roman Egypt. Generally little known and more often than not unpublished, these works are illustrated here in full color, some for the first time. The aim is to better understand the artistic and artisanal production of a type of decoration that played an important role within the living environment of the ancients."--

Uniform Title

Mosaïques d'Alexandrie. English

Alternative Title

Mosaïques d'Alexandrie.

Subject

• Mosaics, Greek > Alexandria
• Mosaics, Roman > Alexandria
• Antiquities
• Mosaics, Greek
• Mosaics, Roman
• Alexandria (Egypt) > Antiquities
• Egypt > Alexandria

Note

• Translation of: Mosaïques d'Alexandrie : pavements d'Égypte grecque et romaine.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references.

Contents

A Brief History of the Mosaic -- The First Mosaics of Alexandria -- Imitating Painting, Color Conquers -- Techniques and Style -- The Iconography of Mosaics -- Mosaics in Their Architectural Context -- The Organization of Production -- Late Antiquity : Pagan and Christian Contexts -- The Role of Alexandria in the History of the Ancient Mosaic -- At the Dawn of the Third Millennium . . . the Mosaic Art Blooms Again in Alexandria

ISBN

• 9781649030740
• 1649030746

LCCN

• 2021015499
• 99990058566
• 40030792986

OCLC

• on1237632602
• 1237632602
• SCSB-14254519

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries