Cosmati work

Cosmati work, type of mosaic technique that was practiced by Roman decorators and architects in the 12th and 13th centuries, in which tiny triangles and squares of coloured stone (red porphyry, green serpentine, and white and other coloured marbles) and glass paste were arranged in patterns and combined with large, stone disks and strips to produce geometric designs. Cosmati work was applied to architectural surfaces and to church furniture.

The word Cosmati comes from the name Cosma, which belonged to a number of members of the several families involved in the art. Cosmati work differs from the several similar mosaic techniques that flourished in Italy at about the same time mainly by its design, which balances areas of busy, intricate pattern with smooth areas of plain stone following the ancient Roman tradition of clarity, simplicity, and monumentality. The production of Cosmati work was interrupted in the 14th century by the temporary transferral of the papal seat to Avignon, France, and subsequently reappeared only in a debased form.