Black Mosaic

Historically, Black Americans have easily found common ground on political, social, and economic goals. Yet, there are signs of increasing variety of opinion among Blacks in the United States, due in large part to the influx of Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean, and African immigrants to the United States. In fact, the very definition of “African American” as well as who can self-identity as Black is becoming more ambiguous. Should we expect African Americans’ shared sense of group identity and high sense of group consciousness to endure as ethnic diversity among the population increases? In Black Mosaic, Candis Watts Smith addresses the effects of this dynamic demographic change on Black identity and Black politics. Smith explores the numerous ways in which the expanding and rapidly changing demographics of Black communities in the United States call into question the very foundations of political identity that has united African Americans for generations. African Americans’ political attitudes and behaviors have evolved due to their historical experiences with American Politics and American racism. Will Black newcomers recognize the inconsistencies between the American creed and American reality in the same way as those who have been in the U.S. for several generations? If so, how might this recognition influence Black immigrants’ political attitudes and behaviors? Will race be a site of coalition between Black immigrants and African Americans? In addition to face-to-face interviews with African Americans and Black immigrants, Smith employs nationally representative survey data to examine these shifts in the attitudes of Black Americans. Filling a significant gap in the political science literature to date, Black Mosaic is a groundbreaking study about the state of race, identity, and politics in an ever-changing America.

An innovative historical and ethnographic examination of Dominican identity formation in the Dominican Republic and the United States.

This publication is engaged in issues, trends, and themes depicted on mosaic pavements discovered in Israel, the Gaza Strip and Petra (the provinces of ancient Palaestina Prima, Secunda and Tertia) with comparable floors in Jordan (Arabia). The majority of the mosaic pavements discussed in this study are dated to the 4th-8th centuries CE. Mosaic pavements were the normal medium for decorating the floors of synagogues, churches, monasteries, and chapels, as well as public and private buildings. Inscriptions found on many of the pavements commemorate the donors, refer to the artists, and sometimes date the mosaics. The ornamentation of the mosaics in this region is remarkable, rich, and varied in its themes and provides many insights into the contemporary artistic and social cultures.

Many argue that “civic duty” explains why Americans engage in politics, but what does civic duty mean, and does it mean the same thing across communities? Why are people from marginalized social groups often more likely than their more privileged counterparts to participate in high-cost political activities? In The Obligation Mosaic, Allison P. Anoll shows that the obligations that bring people into the political world—or encourage them to stay away—vary systematically by race in the United States, with broad consequences for representation. Drawing on a rich mix of interviews, surveys, and experiments with Asian, Black, Latino, and White Americans, the book uncovers two common norms that centrally define concepts of obligation: honoring ancestors and helping those in need. Whether these norms lead different groups to politics depends on distinct racial histories and continued patterns of segregation. Anoll’s findings not only help to explain patterns of participation but also provide a window into opportunities for change, suggesting how activists and parties might better mobilize marginalized citizens.

In 1988 the GCI and the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus agreed to conserve an important floor mosaic excavated in 1984–1985 in Paphos, Cyprus. The mosaic, which depicts Orpheus and the Beasts together in a single panel, is representative of an iconographic tradition common throughout the Mediterranean Basin. It is unusual, however, in that Orpheus is shown with his arm outstretched, and is further distinguished by an inscription naming the person who commissioned the work, a feature not present in any other Roman mosaic in Cyprus. Although the mosaic was in generally good condition when excavated, root damage had dislodged much of the tessellatum from its setting-bed and also had created several large lacunae. Subsidence caused by partial support of the mosaic on an underlying wall became more pronounced after excavation, and cracking appeared. For this reason, the mosaic was lifted, provided with a new support, and replaced in situ. The decision was made to lift the tesellatum by rolling it onto a drum rather than by cutting it into smaller sections, respecting the single pictorial composition of the work. The project included training in this relatively unusual technique for conservators from the region. The Conservation of the Orpheus Mosaic at Paphos, Cyprus, chronicles each element of the project, including the evaluation, documentation, detachment, reinstallation, and cleaning of the mosaic. It includes a clearly illustrated, step-by-step discussion of the procedures used to roll the mosaic and to install its new support system of fiberglass and aluminum. Environmental monitoring, analysis of tesserae samples, and the development and evaluation of a protective shelter are also covered, along with historical and iconographic material on this remarkable mosaic.

Founded in 1894, the Mosaic Tile Company was the dream of two ceramic pioneers who intended to manufacture innovative ceramic mosaic murals while also dominating the utilitarian market. One of the largest such companies in the United States at the time, MTC's most significant contribution to the burgeoning Ohio pottery industry was the development of innovative and varied proprietary tile production and installation methods. Compared to its emphasis on mosaic murals, MTC's utilitarian and giftware goods were produced in limited quantities and were not well received at the time, making them rarer today. This book chronicles the history of ceramic creativity in Zanesville, Ohio, from its earliest days as a bustling town before the Great Depression through its recovery in the 1960s. It examines the Mosaic Tile Company's whole history, the bygone details of this long-lost business, its products and its employees, and incorporates images and postcards illustrating its products in each chapter.

Canterbury Cathedral possesses a unique marble mosaic pavement, dating from the early twelfth century, which has long intrigued scholars and been the subject of speculation and debate. It forms part of the floor of the Trinity chapel, adjacent to the site where the shrine of St Thomas Becket stood, prior to the Reformation. Since the mosaic is older than the chapel itself and partly destroyed a pavement of figurative roundels, laid c. 1215, it must have been moved here from elsewhere in the cathedral. This volume explores the history and archaeology of the Trinity chapel, the pavement and the physical remains of the cult of Becket, based largely on hitherto unrecorded and unpublished evidence. In the early twelfth century, Archbishop Anselm rebuilt the eastern arm of the cathedral, introducing architectural elements from his native Italy, and these included a magnificent mosaic pavement, composed of the most expensive marbles, which lay in front of the high altar. In 1170, Archbishop Becket was murdered in the cathedral, and his body rested overnight on the pavement before being buried in the crypt. Thomas was immediately revered as a martyr, and in 1173 was canonized by the pope; a simple shrine was erected over his tomb. In the following year, a fire (arson) destroyed the eastern arm of the cathedral, precipitating the construction of the present Trinity and Corona chapels, wherein St Thomas’s remains were enshrined. After decades of delay and political strife, the enshrinement took place in 1220, in the presence of Henry III. The shrine comprised a great marble table, supported on six clusters of columns. On top of the table was a marble sarcophagus containing the saint’s body in an iron-bound timber coffin, over which stood the sumptuous feretory, a gabled timber ‘roof’, plated with sheets of gold and adorned with jewels. East of the shrine lies the small Corona chapel in which a fragment of Becket’s skull was separately encased in a ‘head-shrine’, and to the west a large area was paved with forty-eight figurative stone roundels, created by French artisans. All around, stained-glass windows display the early miracles of Becket. The layout of the Trinity chapel underwent transmutations, first around 1230, when the mosaic pavement was taken up from the old presbytery, reduced in size and relaid in front of Becket’s shrine, where is it today. Second, the chapel was reordered in c. 1290, when the podium carrying the shrine was enlarged and the paving around it reconfigured. Medieval tombs were now being installed in the chapels, including those of the Black Prince and Henry IV. The end came in 1538, when Henry VIII ordered the thorough destruction of Becket’s shrines, but a great deal of archaeological evidence remained in the floors, walls and a few surviving fragments of the shrines, all now recorded and discussed in this volume for the first time.

This visually arresting volume showcases mosaics from all corners of the globe and teaches the skills needed to produce 15 beautiful pieces of your own.