MARBLE MOSAIC

Marble, or more properly the stone material, was widely used in antiquity. It was mainly used for the creation of floor mosaics as its main feature was to be resistant to wear and atmospheric agents.

MARBLE MOSAIC: CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PERFECT MATERIAL

The marble or stone material can be of various origins and come from different Italian or foreign quarries.
It is a natural element that has various hardnesses and compositions, with a more or less fine texture with a wide range of shades.
The material of excellence for the mosaic, and therefore the one preferred by the mosaicist, is limestone, that is marble and travertine that have uniformity of color and medium hardness, therefore more suitable for processing and cutting.

THE ANCIENT MOSAIC AND THE USE OF MARBLE

Since ancient times when we talked about mosaics we inevitably referred to marble, as the perfect material for this type of construction technique for floors, precisely because of its characteristics of good workability and resistance.
Good workability is given by the degree of malleability at the moment of cutting the marble slab to obtain the tiles.
In addition, the natural tones of marble were suitable for simulating Roman skin tones and portraiture.

MARBLE MOSAIC FLOORS

In the opus vermiculatum , marble was the fundamental element that made effective realism possible, in the subjects chosen by the Romans to tell the story of daily life.
We find many testimonies of a marble mosaic floor, where the use of marble is privileged, which was then grouted and smoothed in order to create an extremely decorative but functional and perfectly walkable surface.

BUILDING MARBLE MOSAICS

Today marble is available wholesale from marble workers or from retailers for mosaicists such as our school. You can buy marble tiles, slabs to be cut and the mosaicist's tools by clicking here.

It can be purchased in sheets, to be cut independently or already cut into tiles, and it can be treated with solvents for shiny or antiqued effects.
By means of the direct technique, the marble is applied on the net, to compose mosaic decorations.

PROPERTIES OF MARBLE FOR MOSAIC

The technical properties of workability of the rocks and marbles that are of interest for the composition are hardness and durability.

By hardness we mean the resistance of the material to cutting, for the mosaic the most suitable material is the one that maintains a linear and clean cut.

The rocks are classified using a sclerometer with a measurement from 1 to 10 and are divided into: soft , semi-hard which includes many common marbles, that is those most used in mosaics, hard and very hard.

The classification is as follows:

• talc
• plaster
• calcite
• fluorite
• apatite
• orthoclase
• quartz
• topaz
• corundum
• diamond.

Durability means all those factors that guarantee the resistance of the material to abrasion both through processing machinery and from external chemical, physical and atmospheric agents.

The mineralogical nature of the material itself can alter according to the reaction of external elements, determining aesthetic characteristics such as the change in color or its hardness, causing corrosion and degradation of the material.

If you are passionate or passionate about mosaic , discover our kits to make mosaics independently , accompanied by materials and video-course with an explanation of the steps to follow for the realization of a real marble mosaic!

COURSES FOR THE STUDY OF MARBLE MOSAIC

For 20 years our school has been dedicated to the promotion and dissemination of the art of mosaic through specific and personalized training courses, do-it-yourself mosaic kits and professional school for mosaic artists.