Roman micromosaic

Europe tradition · 5 examples · indicative market tier: Under $500 (entry level & living craft)

Micromosaics (or micro mosaics, micro-mosaics) are a special form of mosaic that uses unusually small mosaic pieces (tesserae) of glass, or in later Italian pieces an enamel-like material, to make small figurative images. Surviving ancient Roman mosaics include some very finely worked panels using very small tesserae, especially from Pompeii, but only from Byzantine art are there mosaic icons in micromosaic with tesserae as small as the best from the Modern period. Byzantine examples, which are very rare, were religious icons. Wikipedia →

Types & examples

Where to buy

Each link opens a live, image-rich search for this craft on that marketplace. Listings rotate constantly; authenticate significant pieces independently — attribution quality varies widely outside museum collections.