Cosmati

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of intricate mosaic work commonly featuring geometric patterns and colored stones, often seen in architectural decoration
2. Referring to a style of ornamental stone pavement characterized by elaborate designs, popular in medieval Italy
3. Describing a decorative art form that combines colored stones in picturesque arrangements, frequently utilized in religious and public buildings

Etymology: The style takes its name from a family of Roman marble workers, the Cosmati, whose name comes from the Greek personal name "Kosmas," itself linked to "kosmos," meaning order or adornment. Their workshops made church floors, pulpits, and tomb monuments in which fragments of porphyry, serpentine, and glass were cut and fitted into circles, squares, and interlaced bands. Because the family's name became attached to the technique, the term now names a method as much as a workshop. English kings imported the craft: Henry III commissioned Cosmati pavements for Westminster Abbey, and the floor around the shrine of Edward the Confessor still shows the work.

Synonyms: cosmatesque