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Dick Osseman | all galleries >> Demre >> St. Nicolas church interior > Myra Saint Nicolas church March 2011 5821.jpg
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21-MAR-2011

Myra Saint Nicolas church March 2011 5821.jpg

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Standing in room 6, which is the east side aisle of the church.
On the pavement: an example of a marble ‘opus sectile’ mosaic. Byzantine, 11th century.

Opus sectile is an art technique popularized in the ancient Roman and medieval world where materials were cut and inlaid into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were marble, mother-of-pearl, and glass. The materials were cut in thin pieces, polished, then trimmed further according to a chosen pattern. Unlike tessellated mosaic techniques, where the placement of very small uniformly sized pieces forms a picture, opus sectile pieces are much larger and can be shaped to define large parts of the design.

Correspondent: J.M.Criel, Antwerpen.
Source: Website of ‘stnicholascenter.org’ & Wikipedia.

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