Museum of unique Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul, Turkey

The Museum of Byzantine mosaics in Istanbul is actually a large part of the peristyle of the Imperial Palace in Constantinople, which was discovered in the 30s of the last century. The palace literally resurrected from the ashes of the burned buildings of outright market and the former stables of the Ottoman army, which were located on the site of once majestic Imperial Palace. As is often happens, the unique Byzantine mosaics of V-VI centuries were discovered quite by accident, during the construction work in the area Arasta Bazaar in 1933. In the excavations were discovered and removed from the ground about 2 thousand square meters of priceless mosaics made ​​with the greatest art of lime, terracotta and glass 5mm cubes, which number per 1 sq.m. reached 40 thousand.
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1820-1830 brooch. Italian micro mosaic jewelry

Italian micro mosaic jewelry

Micro-mosaic is painting, laid with tiny pieces of glass called tesserae. In some cases, the number reached 5000 per square inch (2.54 x 2.54 cm). This technique which came into vogue in the 17th century and flourished in the 18th century in the Vatican Mosaic workshop, continues to this day. Also there were workshops in Venice and Florence. Micro mosaic jewelry became popular in the 17-19 centuries in connection with the fashion for travel among the aristocracy. From their trips travelers brought souvenirs – micromosaic depicting historical sites, or sent to their relatives as postcards with pictures on them. Especially popular were the Italian ruins.
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Dance. Stone mosaic by Sergey Karlov

Stone mosaic by Sergey Karlov
Mosaic can be made from different materials – stone, glass, ceramic tile, wood. Presented here mosaics is made of Salbyksky stone. Salbyksky mound – the largest archaeological monument of Khakassia, found in the “Valley of the Kings”, the Eastern Siberia. Sacred territory of Valley of the Kings is popular not only among tourists but also shamans, who perform here ritual cleansing, renewing a person’s energy. Among the local people (Khakases) there is a legend that Salbyksky mound – the handiwork of giants. Blonde people of tremendous growth possessed supernatural powers. According to Sergey Karlov, Alphonse Mucha, Gustav Klimt and Antonio Gaudi inspire him. Noteworthy, Karlov is a member of the Union of Artists of Russia.
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