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{{Short description|Traditional mosaic technique}}
{{Italics title}}
[[File:Tiger calf Musei Capitolini MC1222.jpg|thumb|300px|Tigress attacking a calf, marble ''opus sectile'' (325–350 AD) from the [[Basilica of Junius Bassus]] on the [[Esquiline Hill]], Rome]]

'''''Opus sectile''''' is a form of ''[[pietra dura]]'' popularized in the ancient and medieval [[Roman world]] where materials were cut and [[inlay|inlaid]] into walls and floors to make a picture or pattern. Common materials were [[marble]], [[nacre|mother of pearl]], and [[glass]]. The materials were cut in thin pieces, polished, then trimmed further according to a chosen pattern. Unlike [[opus tessellatum|tessellated mosaic]] techniques, where the placement of very small uniformly sized pieces forms a picture, ''opus sectile'' pieces are much larger and can be shaped to define large parts of the design.

The term ''opus sectile'' was introduced in recent centuries, but the Romans used the term ''sectilia pavimenta''.<ref>Vitruvius, de Architectura, 7,1</ref><ref>Suetonius, Caesar, 46</ref>

==Origin and evolution==
===Early examples===

It appeared in Rome in the first decades of the 1st c. BC when "stone slab floors came into use, at least in the smaller element type".<ref>Pliny, Natural History XXXVI, 189</ref> Under Augustus, its use in the flooring of public buildings began.
The success of the first experiments on a monumental scale led to its application in the private sector, where decorative schemes with smaller marble sections were perfected, but which were very expensive due to the more complex execution. Hence these first examples are limited to imperial properties, such as the [[villa of Livia]] at [[Prima Porta]] and those of [[Tiberius]] on [[Villa Jovis|Capri]].<ref>T. Cinti, M. Lo Castro: The Archaeological Park and Museum of the Trajan Villa in Arcinazzo Romano p 35</ref>

Recent work by the [[Temple Mount Sifting Project]] has recovered enough pieces of polished stone triangles and squares from the Herodian [[Temple Mount]] to reconstruct geometric patterns of ''opus sectile'' flooring.<ref>[http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/temple-at-jerusalem/what-the-temple-mount-floor-looked-like/?mqsc=E3854622  Frankie Snyder, Gabriel Barkay and Zachi Dvira. 2016. ''Biblical Archaeology Review'', November/December.]</ref> Evidence for geometric opus sectile floors also comes from [[Herod's Palace|Herodian palaces]] at Cypros, Caesarea Maritima, Herodium, Jericho, Machaerus, Masada, and from Herodian construction at [[Banias]], where the opus sectile consisted of octagons, squares, and triangles.<ref>[https://www.baslibrary.org/biblical-archaeology-review/48/1/7 Frankie Snyder and Rachel Bar-Nathan. Proof Positive: How We Used Math to Find Herod's Palace at Banias. ''Biblical Archaeology Review'', Spring 2022.]</ref>

===Golden era: Rome and Eastern Empire===
The most prominent artefacts remain from 4th-century Rome. A large set from the [[Basilica of Junius Bassus]] survived, depicting an elaborate [[chariot]] and other images.{{cn|date=April 2019}} The popularity of ''opus sectile'' decoration continued in Rome through the 6th century, and affected areas as far as [[Constantinople]] (now [[Istanbul]] in Turkey). Particularly remarkable are a series of fourth-century CE panels in glass ''opus sectile'', found in a possible sanctuary of [[Isis]] at the eastern [[Corinth]]ian port of [[Kenchreai]], in excavations carried out in the 1960s; they include scenes of famous authors like [[Homer]] and [[Plato]], scenes of [[Nilotic landscape]]s, harbour-front cities and geometric panels.{{cn|date=April 2019}}

====Examples====
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:Villa Adriana Opus Sectile Piccole Terme.jpg|Marble floor inlay, [[Hadrian's Villa]] (early 2nd century)
Image:Opus sectile floral Massimo.jpg|Vegetal pattern. Roman artwork, 2nd century CE, possibly from the villa of [[Lucius Verus]] in [[Acquatraversa]]. On exhibit at the [[Palazzo Massimi alle Terme]].
File:0 'Processus consularis' - Opus sectile - Pal Massimo.JPG|[[Biga (chariot)|Two-horse chariot]] bearing the presiding [[Roman magistrate|magistrate]] at a ''[[pompa circensis]]'' ("[[ludi circenses|circus]] parade"), from the Basilica of Junius Bassus<ref>Katherine M.D. Dunbabin, "The Victorious Charioteer on Mosaics and Related Monuments," ''American Journal of Archaeology'' 86.1 (1982), p. 71.</ref>
File:MANA - Mosaik 1.jpg|Ancient Roman star-shaped ''opus sectile'' inset within a [[tessellated]] (i.e. mosaic) pavement (Archaeological Museum, [[Aquileia]])
File:Domus di Amore e Psiche Ostia Antica 2006-09-08 n4.jpg|''Opus sectile'' floor pavement. Room C of the House of Cupid and Psyche (regio I, insula XIV), Ostia Antica
</gallery>

===Later uses===
====Byzantine Empire====
Although the technique died in Rome with the decline of the Empire, it continued to be used prominently in [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] churches, primarily in floor designs.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Giusti |first=Anna Maria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f9LYOw1PZG0C&dq=opus+sectile+Byzantine+churches+floor&pg=PA9 |title=Pietre Dure: The Art of Semiprecious Stonework |date=2006 |publisher=Getty Publications |isbn=978-0-89236-849-5 |language=en}}</ref>

====Persia====
[[File:Jameh Mosque of Isfahan 2015 4.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Mo'araq]]'', [[Aq Qoyunlu]] tilework at the [[:Commons:Category:Southern iwan of Jameh Mosque of Isfahan|South iwan]] of the [[Jameh Mosque of Isfahan]], circa 1475-76]]
The technique, known as ''[[Mo'araq]]'' in Persian, was used extensively by the [[Timurids]], [[Qara Qoyunlu]] and [[Aq Qoyunlu]] dynasties in the 14th-15th century.

====Medieval Italy====
[[File:Ca' d'oro, cortile 02.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Cosmatesque]] pavement, [[Ca' d'Oro]], Venice]]
From Byzantium it was eventually brought back to [[Sicily]] and the Italian mainland, in the 12th century as the [[Cosmatesque]] style, concentrating on geometric patterns.{{cn|date=April 2019}}

It is featured at the basilica [[San Miniato al Monte]] that overlooks Florence. 

====Italian Renaissance====
There was a major revival from the [[Italian Renaissance]] (14th–17th century) in the form of [[pietra dura]] work, although this normally consists of much smaller compositions and it was mainly used on furniture.{{cn|date=April 2019}}

====Intarsia====
Architectural work from later periods tends to be called [[intarsia]].{{cn|date=April 2019}}

====19th-century England====
In England, the technique was revived in the late 19th century by artists working in the [[Arts and Crafts movement]]. Charles Hardgrave, whose designs were executed by [[James Powell & Sons]] at the Whitefriars Glass Works, was a noted designer in this technique.{{cn|date=April 2019}}

==See also==
* [[Intarsia]]
* [[Marquetry]]
* {{annotated link|Opus incertum|''opus incertum''}}
* {{annotated link|Opus mixtum|''Opus mixtum''|aka=''opus compositum''}}
* {{annotated link|Opus quadratum|''opus quadratum''}}
* ''[[Pietra dura]]''
* {{annotated link|Roman concrete|aka=''opus caementicium''}}

== Citations ==
<references />

== General and cited references ==
* Avraham, A.: 'Addressing the Issue of Temple Mount Pavements During the Herodian Period'. '''New Studies on Jerusalem''', Vol 13, Ramat-Gan, Israel. 2007.
* Becatti, G. ''Edificio con opus sectile fuori Porta Marina''. Roma: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato, 1969.
* ''The Stations of the Cross according to St. Alphonsus; reproduced from the original "opus sectile" panels in the Church of St Mary's, Lowe House, St Helens, Lancs''. London: Burns Oates, 1934.
* De Fazio, A & Schöps, A.: ''Un lacerto in 'opus sectile' dalla 'domus' di via D'Azeglio a Ravenna: proposte di restauro e conservazione''. Ravenna: Longo, 1995.
* Ibrahim, L., Scranton, R. & Brill, R. ''Kenchreai, Eastern port of Corinth ... 2, The panels of opus sectile in glass''. Leiden: Brill, 1976.
* ''Mosaici antichi in Italia: Sectilia pavimenta di Villa Adriana''. Rome: Istituto poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, Libreria dello Stato, 1989.
* {{cite news | last=James | first=Liz | title=Opus sectile | publisher=Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press }}
* Snyder, F. & Avraham. A.: "The Opus Sectile Floor in Caldarium of the Palatial Fortress at Cypros". In: ''Hasmonean and Herodian Palaces at Jericho'', Volume V. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, pp 175–202. 2013.

== External links ==
* {{Commons category inline}}

[[Category:Artistic techniques]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman art]]
[[Category:Hardstone carving]]
[[Category:Roman mosaics]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman construction techniques]]