The motives of ornament are those commonly found in the stuffs, especially silks, of Sicily and the East, and their use here could easily be accounted for through connection with Sicily. It is known that the Hotel de Tiraz at Palermo, the great royal manufactory of stuffs, artistic metal work, mosaics, etc., established in the sixth century, and which continued until the sixteenth, supplied not only much of the finest textile products for all of Europe in that time, but also furnished workmen who carried with them the designs and methods of Sicilian textile manufacture to other countries. Such manufactories were established in several Italian cities, among them Lucca.
The relationship seems clear, as the forms are perfectly similar. The beasts and birds set in balancing pairs facing each other and repeated in an all-over pattern, as in a woven fabric, strongly suggest the Sicilian silks. Eug. Muentz in his work, "La Tapisserie," speaks of this evident relationship. The internal evidence of the design itself would be quite sufficient if we had no other means of tracing it.
These two pavements are practically unique, as far as we are able to learn. They are marble inlay, the pattern having been cut out in a slab of white marble and pieces of black marble carefully fitted in to form the figure. This is not true mosaic, and differs essentially in design from the mosaic work of the same period which was derived from the Roman mosaics made up of small pieces of marble or other material. Most of the floor mosaics in Italy have suffered from wear and tear, and have in many cases been very poorly restored; but these two pavements appear to be in nearly their original condition.
The design does not have the merit of belonging distinctively to the material in all cases, and might just as well be applied to wood parquetry as stone. In fact, it might be even more effective in this material if the colors were judiciously chosen.
XXXIII. Portion of the Pavement in the Baptistery, Florence, Italy.
XXXIV. Portion of the Pavement in the Baptistery, Florence, Italy.
XXXV. Portion of the Pavement in the Baptistery, Florence, Italy.