Virgin and Child

There are two main types of mosaic surviving from the Byzantine period: wall mosaics in churches, and sometimes palaces, made using glass tesserae, sometimes backed by gold leaf for a gold ground effect, and floor mosaics that have mostly been found by archaeology. These often use stone pieces, and are generally less refined in creating their images.

It was not acceptable for images of sacred figures to be walked upon. Religious mosaics show similar subject matter to that found in other surviving religious Byzantine art in painted icons and manuscript miniatures.

Floor mosaics often have images of geometrical patterns, often interspersed with animals. Scenes of hunting were popular.

This 10th century Byzantine mosaic of Virgin and Child on a gold ground is in the former cathedral Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.

Byzantine mosaics are mosaics produced from the 4th to 15th centuries in and under the influence of the Byzantine Empire. Mosaics were some of the most popular and historically significant art forms produced in the empire.