Handmade Roman mosaics: how they are made today and how to choose one for your wall

What a Roman mosaic is, and where to see ancient ones

A mosaic is a picture built from tesserae, small cubes of stone or glass, pressed into mortar. The laying techniques keep their Latin names: opus tessellatum, even tesserae in rows, for most floors; opus vermiculatum, tiny pieces in curving lines that follow a face; opus sectile, marble cut to shape. Ostia Antica keeps its black-and-white floors; in Pompeii the dog of the House of the Tragic Poet still warns CAVE CANEM. Gold belongs above all to later walls: in the fifth- and sixth-century churches of Ravenna the tesserae are gold leaf sealed between two layers of glass. The Vatican's Studio del Mosaico, usually dated to 1727, reproduced the altarpieces of St Peter's in mosaic, and Rome's later micromosaics became a Grand Tour souvenir.

How a mosaic is made by hand today

Each tessera is cut with a martellina, a two-edged hammer, struck against a tagliolo, a small blade fixed upright in a block: one blow, one tessera. In the direct method the tesserae go one by one into the fresh bed on the final support; in the indirect method they are glued face down on paper over the drawing, turned into the bed, and the paper is soaked off. The joints are filled, the stuccatura, or left open. The direction of the rows, the andamento, makes a face turn or water move: it is the maker's handwriting.

How to choose one: stone, glass, or a print that looks like mosaic

A handmade mosaic has relief: every tessera sits at its own small angle, so light breaks differently across it as you move. A print or a cast panel is usually smooth, and its tesserae tend to repeat on a regular grid; in a real one no two are alike. Weight is the second test: stone in mortar on a rigid support is heavy for its size, so ask before planning the fixing. Then four questions: handmade or printed; what the tesserae are made of; whether it is stamped or signed, and where it is declared as made; how much of the price is hours of cutting.

The mosaic in our shop: Roma SPQR

The only mosaic in our catalogue is the Roma SPQR mosaic (€4,750): handmade stone mosaic with 24-karat gold leaf, 28x36 cm, framed and ready to hang, showing the SPQR shield and the word ROMA. Its origin, as declared on the piece and in our catalogue, is Made in the Vatican, stamped and signed by the artist; we report that declaration as it stands. It is a modern handmade piece, not an antique, and we do not sell it as one. The price is the site price, at least 5% below Etsy.

What sits well next to a mosaic

A mosaic lives on the wall; the rest stands on the shelf beneath it. Site prices.

• Roman scutum (€205). Hand-painted reproduction, Jupiter's winged thunderbolt in gold on red, purely decorative.
• Roman war chariot, ivory and gold (€1,235). Resin, aged ivory finish with gold rein chains, designed and selected in Rome.
• The Last Supper (€140). Hand-finished bronze-effect resin relief, made in Italy.
• Michelangelo's David (€155). Bronze-effect resin, made in Italy; the original is in the Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence.
• Lady Justice, Iustitia (€115). Bronze-effect resin made in Italy, scales, sword and blindfold (see the guide for lawyers).
• Julius Caesar bust (€100). Hand-finished bronze-effect resin made in Italy, Medusa breastplate and eagle.

See it in person, pickup and shipping

You can see the mosaic at Via Cavour 280, five minutes from the Colosseum, open every day from 10:00 to 20:00: move sideways in front of it; no photograph passes that test. Online: free pickup in store, free tracked shipping in Italy (2–4 working days), €20 to the EU (3–7), €50 to the rest of the world (6–14). Dispatch in 1–2 working days, 14 days to return it.