MOSAIC HISTORY: United Kingdom:
13170 MOSAICS IN ROMAN BRITAIN, Stories in Stone £17.99
Patricia Witts, Tempus, 2005, 192pp, 24 colour + 75 b & w illustrations, paperback
At last - an authoritative introduction to Roman mosaics in Britain! The subject is dealt with by classifying the mosaics into groups - Love Stories, Heroic Adventures, Religion and Culture, Gods and Goddesses etc - rather than the more usual date or location system and this is useful for placing each mosaic in its context. The addition of an excellent glossary, a gazetteer and a comprehensive Bibliography make this a superb book.
ROMAN MOSAICS OF BRITAIN:
16028 Vol 1: Northern Britain (Cambridgeshire, Leicestershireand Rutland, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire, Nottingham and Derbyshire, Suffolk, Warwickshire, Yorkshire, Scotland £160.00
David Neal & Steven Cosh, Illuminata/ASPROM/Society of Antiquaries, 2002, 416 + xvi pp, 481 illustrations of which 220 are in full colour, cloth
16029 Vol 2: South West England £160.00
David Neal & Steven Cosh, Illuminata/ASPROM/Society of Antiquaries, 2006, 406 + xiv pp, fully illustrated, mainly in colour, cloth
The first two volumes in this set are now available marking the culmination of more than seventy years of combined research and painstaking draughtsmanship by the two authors who are in the forefront of mosaic scholarship. Eventually consisting of four volumes, this work amounts to a complete illustrated catalogue of every known Roman mosaic in Britain. All have been painted by the authors at 1:10 scale, with individual tesserae painted in gouache to give a faithful representation of the colours. Nearly 2000 mosaics are now known from Roman Britain, of which some 400 feature in the first volume and a further 500 or so in the second Presented in the form of a county gazetteer, each mosaic find site is described, with drawings, photographs of figured elements taken at the time of discovery, plans of relevant structures, bibliography and, most important of all, meticulous reconstruction paintings.
Volume 1 also has includes illuminating essay in which the authors discuss the history and techniques of mosaic illustration, the history of mosaic excavation and the subsequent fate of many mosaics, the artistic content, quality and iconography of Romano-British mosaics, the organization of the craft, the methods employed, and the sources of mosaic materials. They also distinguish a number of mosaic ‘groups’, and discuss the links between them - and even the intriguing possibility that we can identify the work of individual mosaic artists. The essay concludes by addressing the questions of chronology and the contribution that mosaic studies can make to an understanding of the function of various types of Romano-British building.
Future Volumes in Preparation
- 18030 Vol 3: South-East Britain
- 18031 Vol 4: Western Britain
18034 THE ROMAN VILLA AT BRADFORD ON AVON, The Investigations of 2002 £5.00
Mark Corney, Ex Libris Press, 2003, 36pp, 19 colour illus + 1 plan, booklet
An account of the background and remarkable finds at this Wiltshire site which unearthed a new and extremely well preserved Roman mosaic. The Mosaic is considered in context together with other finds from this fascinating dig.
18039 ROMAN VILLAS £5.99
David E Johnston, Shire Archaeology, 5th edition, 2004, 72pp, 34 colour + many b & w illus and plans, paperback
The latest edition of this popular Shire Archaeology title has some mosaic interest and is excellent for placing mosaics etc in their context. Excellent value.
18011 ROMANO-BRITISH MOSAICS £5.99
Peter Johnson, Shire, amended reprint, 2002, 72pp, 51 b & w illus, paperback
This first-rate introduction to the floor mosaics of Roman Britain has been out of print for some time and makes a welcome return!
12017 LOPEN: The Roman Mosaic: VIDEO £12.00 inc VAT
Justin Owen and the Lopen Mosaic Group, 2003, 42 minutes, VHS-PAL (only), colour
The fascinating story of one of the most exciting finds or recent times - The Lopen Mosaic is one of the best preserved and most extensive mosaics in Britain and was found by chance when a farmer was digging the footings for a new access road. The Video contains a detailed account of the find, and shows how the village people created a new mosaic from some of the surplus loose tesserae that were found.
ARA11 Bulletin of the ASSOCIATION FOR ROMAN ARCHAEOLOGY, Vol 11 £3.00
Various authors, ARA, 2001, 20pp, 33 colour illus, A4 booklet
A special issue of the Bulletin devoted to British mosaics. An excellent introduction to the subject.
23023 WESTMINSTER ABBEY: The Cosmati Pavements £49.95
Ed by Lindy Grant & Richard Mortimer, Ashgate Press - Courtauld Research Papers No 3, 2002, 141pp, 42 b & w illus, 2 fold-out colour illus, cloth, dustwrapper
The definitive work on the Cosmati Pavements of Westminster Abbey, studying the materials, significance and nature of the floors. Also attempts to decipher the cryptic inscriptions & compares the floor with other contemporary tiled and stone floors.
BAA153 BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION Journal, Vol 153, 2000 £15.00
Various authors, B.A.A, 2001, 227pp, illus in b & w + 4 colour plates, paperback
Contents: The Bacchus Mosaic at Stonefield, Oxon and its depiction on tapestry; Medieval floor tiles of Cleeve Abbey; the Cosmati pavement of the Chapel of St Edward the Confessor, Westminster Abbey; the nave pavement of Haughmond Abbey; Medieval floor tiles in Denmark; An ordinary of English medieval armorial tiles; 17th century tile tombs in Normandy; an archive of paving tiles in the Parker-Hore Collection, Worcester and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.