Mossaics in Istanbul

For over a thousand years, from the fourth century until the Ottoman conquest in 1453, the art of mosaic formed an integral part of the decoration of monumental buildings in Constantinople.Ancient sources mention the mosaic floors that decorated the palaces of Byzantine emperors and they refer also to the teams of mosaic makers who travelled from Constantinople to various parts of the empire, sometimes taking with them the materials they needed. The remains of a mosaic floor of the Great Palace of Constantinople, gives some idea of the superb craftsmanship of these mosaicists.The early mosaics of both secular and religious buildings suffered not only the destruction of iconoclasts and the Fourth Crusade, but also natural disasters. Nevertheless, many of these mosaics must still exist, lying in the debris of uncountable fires and earthquakes, under the modern apartments of Istanbul. Unfortunately, the chance of recovering any of these is meagre, unless they are encountered in construction work. This volume brings together a considerable part of the surviving Late Antique and Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul.