Explore 8 Different Types of Mosaic Tiles Material & Tesserae's

The word "tessares," meaning four, is thought to originate from the Greeks and eventually became "tessera" in Latin. A tessera, to the Romans, was a 4-sided tablet made of wood, stone, or bone and it was used for a variety of purposes, from ticketing to identification. Tesserae, the plural of tessera, thus was an appropriate word for the 4-sided colorful cubes of stone, shell, or ceramic that were used for many mosaic materials of the period. Types of tesserae today include larger tiles, and some made of glass, hand-painted stone, and even metal. So much so, that, in some cases when larger mosaics are premade or on a grid backing, the word "tesserae" is now synonymous with the word "tile." Here are some of the different materials and types available to the prospective buyer.

Ralart Mosaic supply professional and honest service.

 

#1 Shell

Some of the original mosaics seen in Pre-Columbian times were made with tiny shells. They can easily be imbedded in clay and have a beautiful repetitive motif that can create fantastic patterns. You can still create your own mosaics using shells, but tiles today use inlays of mother-of-pearl, rather than the whole tiny shells. This tile, for example, shows mother-of-pearl cabochons embedded in marble.

Pearl Shell - View Details>>

 

#2 Glass

Glass tiles come in many different types, and include vitreous, smalti, mirrored, and clear glass tiles. Vitreous tiles are the ones more commonly known today. They are the ones sold on a grid backing for easy installation into a bathroom or kitchen. Smalti is a type of hand-cut glass made in Italy that is expensive. Clear glass looks somewhat like stained glass. Mirrored tiles offer a unique take on glass tiles and helps to bounce the light around a room a bit more, however, the same effect can be gotten from other types of glass tiles, like in this mosaic created with tiles from the glass collection.

Glass Mosaic Tile - View Details>>

 

#3 Penny Round

Penny round is a term that denotes the mosaic materials that are small, like a penny. However, they come in a variety of shapes, not just round. You can get hexagonal penny tiles just as easily as more classic cubed tiles. They can be made of ceramic, stone, or even actual pennies, if that's what you want in your mosaic project. Metallic tiles are considered pretty modern. If you want a penny tile design with something more unusual, here is a tile that looks like a collection of penny tiles in star shapes.

Penny Round Mosaics - View Details>>

 

#4 Pebbles

Another ancient material that has now become ultra trendy because of its sustainability is the use of pebbles. In the past, pebbles were used only outdoors to line paths, but today you can put them in your organic bathroom to give it a real "back to nature" look and feel. A pebble would have been considered a tessera, if it was used in a mosaic and the same is true today even though an entire tile sheet made of pebbles is far easier to install that one pebble at a time. This tumbled river rock tile gives the floor a rustic, but warm, look.

River Rock Tile - View Details>>

 

#5 Ceramic

Ceramic mosaics were created with clay shards, busted porcelain china, and hand-painted clay tile shards as well as glazed tesserae. However, you don't have to smash tiles up into tiny, bite-sized, pieces for the tiles to have a mosaic look to them. You can get glazed or unglazed ceramic tiles on a plastic grid sheet that are already laid out in a mosaic pattern. This Moroccan tile when repeated against each other makes a beautiful mosaic pattern. 

Porcelain Mosaics - View Details>>

 

#6 Stone

If you like the tiny mosaic look, you can still get it in stone in the same manner, with pre-designed tiles. It can even have an ancient look to it even though the materials and process are completely modern. Here is a wave mosaic, a very Old-World motif, created from a pre-made marble mosaic design.

 

Wave Tile - View Details>> 

 

#7 Hand-Painted Stone

Just like ceramics can be hand-painted, so can stone. Thus, even if the stone tiles are small, once hand-painted, they can give a look of having a mosaic in place. This design shows the difference in look and feel of a hand-painted mosaic to one made where each tile is its own individual color or shape. 

Hand Painted Mosaic Mural - View Details>>

 

For more information, please visit Mosaic Tile Assortments.

#8 Other Types of Tesserae

I hope you realize now that there are no limits to the types of materials, shapes, and sizes you can use to create your own mosaic design. Churches in the Renaissance period were even known to use precious gems and gold in their mosaics. If you wanted to use plastic buttons or even sewing bobs, and even old DVDs, you can. Tiles and mosaics are not limited to ancient materials!

 

Floral Mosaic Tile - View Details>>

 

A Wide Assortment of Types

This is just a small list of the many different types of tiles out there that you can use to create a mosaic effect. A classical tessera is a small piece of mosaic material, but this was prior to the invention of backings that allowed you to create your mosaic outside the job site. Now, they can be sheets of different materials, that include a mosaic design that includes stone, glass, mirrors, mother-of-pearl, and pebbles, amongst other choices. The use of the word tile and tesserae is almost identical these days. The size of the tile has become less important than the mosaic look and feel that it creates. Even mosaics made with small tiles that are hand-painted can be qualified as one. Those with mosaic designs on sheets that are far larger than the original chips of marbles used by the Romans and Greeks are also included in the term. In addition, there are far more materials in use to create fascinating mosaics that weren't even available in the past, like shards of DVDs.

This is just a small list of the many different types of tiles out there that you can use to create a mosaic effect. A classical tessera is a small piece of mosaic material, but this was prior to the invention of backings that allowed you to create your mosaic outside the job site. Now, they can be sheets of different materials, that include a mosaic design that includes stone, glass, mirrors, mother-of-pearl, and pebbles, amongst other choices. The use of the word tile and tesserae is almost identical these days. The size of the tile has become less important than the mosaic look and feel that it creates. Even mosaics made with small tiles that are hand-painted can be qualified as one. Those with mosaic designs on sheets that are far larger than the original chips of marbles used by the Romans and Greeks are also included in the term. In addition, there are far more materials in use to create fascinating mosaics that weren't even available in the past, like shards of DVDs.

Mosaic art is one of the oldest branches of art and has played an important role throughout history in many different cultures. There are many types of mosaic art due to the limitlessness of materials and ideas that can be used in mosaic art. To learn more about the types of mosaic art, keep reading!

Check out our Mosaic Swan Lamp Home Kit product on our website!

Mosaic Art Definition

Mosaic can simply be defined as the art of making a whole by gluing different materials onto a surface. The important thing in mosaic art is to determine the materials that will form the whole, to combine them and to obtain different designs by sticking these materials on different surfaces. 

When creating a mosaic piece of art, it is possible to work with many different things, such as abstract paintings, small items like mosaic table lamps, flooring and tiles, garden furniture, wall art. Likewise, the materials that can be used in mosaics depend entirely on the creativity of the artist. 

Numerous materials such as seashells, stained glass, stones, pieces of paper, ceramic pieces can be used to create a mosaic piece of art. Therefore, there are many different types of mosaic art according to the materials and surfaces used, the object or the base. 

5 Different Mosaic Art Style

It is not correct to define the types of mosaic art with just certain art movements or to reduce them to a certain number, because it can be said that there can be an unlimited number of types of mosaic art according to the designs, materials, themes or mosaic style. Nevertheless, it is possible to list some of the most common examples. Here are 5 fascinating types of mosaic art!

Modern Mosaic Art

One of the most popular types of mosaic recently is modern mosaic art. In modern mosaic art, artists focus on breaking the traditional framework of the types of mosaic art and exploring new perspectives. Abstract patterns, innovative methods, geometric figures are common in these works of art. In addition, in modern mosaics, some artists try to recreate famous paintings or figures with the methods of mosaic art.

Figurative Mosaic Art

In figurative mosaic art, which is one of the types of mosaic art that is increasing in popularity, the focus of the mosaic is entirely on a figure. This figure can be a human figure, an animal, flowers or objects, depending on the artist's design. 

In addition, artists can work in specialized fields such as imaginary figures, figures of famous people, figures evoking famous events. The important thing in figurative mosaic art is to design, color and customize the figure determined as the main point of the mosaic.

Check out our Delilah Moon Lamp Home Kit product on our website!

Mythological Mosaics

The truth is that mythology is one of the things that has inspired and will inspire artists the most throughout human history. Studying the mythologies of different cultures provides artists with new perspectives and gives many different figures to use in their artworks. In the mythological mosaic art, which is one of the types of mosaic art, artists are inspired by these mythological figures and stories. 

In this type of mosaic work, the details of a mythological story can be processed or a mythological figure can be focused directly. Fairies, gods and goddesses, angels, dragons, elves are some of the most used mythological figures. In addition, mosaic art can also be used to create a mythological object in mythological stories. 

For example, it is possible to learn the details of mosaic lamp making and to work on original designs to make a mythological magical lamp. As Art Masterclass, we provide you with all the facilities you will need to create your own mosaic lamp in mosaic classes that we try to make it easy for everyone.

Abstract Mosaic Art

Abstract patterns, shapes and ideas have always been attractive to artists when concrete reality was not enough. In abstract mosaic art, which is one of the types of mosaic art, the focus of artists is not to create figures, landscapes or patterns that are compatible with concrete reality. 

In this style, abstract lines and patterns are mostly preferred. In abstract mosaic artworks where vivid colors, pastel tones or natural colors can be used that evoke dreams, the aim is to convey a feeling or an idea that does not focus only on meaning.

Street Mosaic Art

Of course, it is not possible for an art like mosaic not to be influenced by street style. Street mosaic art, which is among the types of mosaic art, mostly features colorful patterns from street style and people. So this means that even street graffiti can be reflected in mosaic works. Street mosaic art follows the trends of street style, keeps the pulse of the current and brings the joy of the street to the mosaic.

You can read our previous article from https://artmasterclassmosaic.myshopify.com/blogs/news/famous-mosaic-artists.

Are you interested in learning more about Loose Mosaic Tiles? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!