What Does Mosaic Mean?

An art medium in which small pieces of colored glass, stone, or ceramic tile called tessera are embedded in a background material such as plaster or mortar is known as mosaic. It is often very intricate and detailed; mosaic is usually used on walls, ceilings and floors. The ancient Greeks often decorated their floors with such pieces of art; later the Romans decorated both their floors and walls with mosaics. Christians also started this practice in the 6th century Ad and it was adopted initially to decorate churches. The Eastern Orthodox Church of Byzantine Empire used this technique extensively.

Mosaic was also used for domestic interior decoration in the ancient times. Mosaic is believed to have a lot of culture and spiritual significance. It is a part of iconography. Islam also uses mosaic in intricate geometric designs. It is also known by the names of zillij and qashani. The New York Subway is an excellent example of mosaic.