Thousands of years of human-animal bond depicted in animal mosaic art
(5 min read) If you browse through the internet searching for the explanation and insight into how human-animal bond actually came to life, you won’t find much. Most often you will run into some sturdy definition, such as: “The human-animal bond is a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship” yadda yadda yadda. That is all fun and dandy, but no one knows when exactly people started to tame animals and keep them as pets.
Some scientists over at Smithsonian suggest that pets have been harnessed to humans for tens of thousands of years, but that is one quite broad assumption. On the other hand, archeologists have discovered thousands of stone tools and animal bones that suggest that homo Erectus (lol) has been scavenging and butchering animals at least 2 million years ago. Needless to say, animals of all kinds have been integral parts of our lives. Whether you like munching on hamburgers, or you’re a vegan with ten pets trying to save the cows from slaughter, you’re bound to be in some kind of contact with animals. And the same goes for art. Animals have been present in the art world since the dawn…well, since the dawn of the art world. One of the best examples for that is undoubtedly mosaic art.
The earliest form of mosaic tradition was found in decorative designs of Mesopotamia around the 16th century B.C. One of the entry gates, known as the Ishtar Gate, was adorned with gorgeous glazed bricks sainted and assembled to represent a variety of animalistic motifs, such as oxen and lions. These early beginnings of mosaic art although truly gorgeous, are not done in the mosaic patterns as we know them. The first mosaic artwork as we know it started appearing during the Sassanid Empire and the majority was a direct result of the vast Roman influence.
Some of the most beautiful mosaics come from the Macedonian palace-city of Aegae, with one of the most prominent being the Stag Hunt Mosaic from the House of the Abduction of Helen, from the late 4th century BC. Once again, the animal is in the center of the mosaic art, depicting a stag being hunted down by hunters and their dog. One of the famous ancient mosaics from the same period was found in nearby Greece. A mosaic of the Kasta Tomb in Amphipolis, which depicts the abduction of Persephone by Pluto, with two magnificent horses at the center of it. Scenes of hunting bores and stags, a variety of birds, most prominently doves, were often depicted in this early period of civilization.
These days animal mosaic art is much more colorful and it is mostly focused on the expression of love and affection toward animals than anything else. Back in ancient times, animal mosaic art was more business-like (I’m trying to avoid the term “butchering”). Today artists like Amanda Anderson with her colorful animal and nature mosaic art, are pushing the boundaries and style. Anderson mostly works with stained glass and patterned ceramic pieces, but always in gorgeous vibrant colors and intricate craftsmanship and construction.
Jim Bachor does some great work covering potholes, but almost all of his seemingly quirky mosaics carry strong messages, and often he sends that message by featuring an animal in his mosaics. Vermin invading New York City may be under the radar for the rest of the world, but Bachor draws the problem out I the open by creating rat and pigeon mosaics pothole covers. He also depicted dogs, owls, and more, all in good purpose and with great admiration from the communities.
One of the famous mosaic artists who is also doing some useful work for the communities is Chilean mosaicist, muralist, and ceramist Isidora Paz Lopez. She is well known for her captivating public art project that fundamentally transforms grey and gloomy city streets into vibrant mosaic landscapes. She often chooses animals to build her mosaic stories around, so city streets get their very own piece of lush flora and fauna.
For some of us, animals are the source of food, for others, they are the cause for concern, but for most of us, they are love, joy, and friendship all in one. Mosaic art, as one of the oldest art forms in the world, stands as a strong testament to the unbreakable bond between humans and animals.
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75 Comments
Ok, that fish pond mosaic is amazing! I also like the one with the cat since cats are my favorite animals. And my son saw the dolphin mural and said he wants that in his room now!!
This mosaic art is really beautiful. Love the different colors they used.
I love all of these. I’ve always been a fan of mosaics because of the colors. I’d love one in the house at some point.
These are all so awesome! I love the koi pond one!
Wow, these are some gorgeous works of art. I could stare at these all day. Such a beautiful way to capture the relationship between animals and humans.
When the mosaics reflect faces and fauna environments they become real works of art that pay homage to nature. ^_^ ttt
Great mosaics! I super love the wolf in the bathroom.
Ooh, I love most of these! Not sure about having a wolf look over me while I bathe, though. Lol.
These mosaic arts are really pretty and meaningful! I like looking at these designs because they’re so creative, thanks for sharing!
The wolf on the wall and the fish pond look fabulous.
Wow, these are amazing mosaic art! These are wonderful!
OMG loved these animal mosaic art..every art is much better than the other one..all looks so amazing and lovely..i especially loved that Wolf mosaic bathroom backsplash….Thanks for sharing..Great work…
I do love visiting and seeing all of the wonderful works of art that you showcase on your site. I especially love the wolf in the shoer and the fish that look as if they are swimming in a pool. Very cool and would love to learn this art for sure 🙂
How beautiful! I never tire of the mosaic artwork…these pieces are really stunning.
Oh wow, such beautiful mosaic art! Thank you for blessing my morning!
Oh they’re so full of nature, I just love these!
Those abduction mosaics are just incredible. And the wolf over the bath? Yes, please, I’ll take it. 🙂
These are works of art. I love the dolphin one the best.
These mosaic pieces are so beautiful! I wouldn’t mind having quite a few of them in my garden, I think they would be true statement pieces. I love that colorful fox.
That wolf mosaic is crazy! I honestly think it would give me nightmares but it’s pretty cool
Beautiful pics! I would love to have one in my place 🙂
I really love this design, “Animalistic motifs on the Ishtar Gate.” It’s captivating.
These animals look just wonderful in the mosaics presented in your post! It’s true that this bond is very strong! 🙂
Beautiful work. I’ve never thought about pets many years ago.
I never get bored looking at every sight of this mosaic arts. But most I love was the 3D pool of fishes. I so love it. Can I grab it?
These are really great. I love the fish pond mosaic. It looks so real. Very cool.
What a beautiful presentation of the human-animal bond!
My favorite is with the swan.
These are deep artistic impressions that mosaic lovers will live to cherish. Thank you for sharing.
These are all so cool. Love all the different animal designs. The fox in the first picture is my favorite. My son would love something like that. He’s such an animal lover.
What an interesting blog. Mosaics seem super cool.
I love mosaic art, especially when it’s in pools or ponds. These are some pretty pieces.
When mosaics represent animals, it always seemed to me that they gave them life. ^_^ tttt
These animal mosiacs look super charming. I abolutely loved the wolf one in here.
Such exquisite art work. It truly depicts the human-animal bond.
Those all are so cute. The fox ones are the best.
I love the concept and incorporation of the animals in the art work. It’s amazing.
Once again, beautiful pieces you shared in this post. My favorites are the fish pond and the bear. I am really amazed at the talents of those who created these mosaics!
Gary Drostle’s fish mosaic has always been one of my favorites. So clever that he was able to produce a 3D effect with tile!
These are all absolutely stunning. I love how unique your work is.
Great work of arts! They are absolutely amazing! I so love the Wolf mosaic bathroom backsplash!
Renards Amoureux and the Wolf mosaic bathroom backsplash are my favorites on this list. Mosaics are amazing art forms and I commend those who do them.
Mosaics are so full of History and it’s no surprise that we can see animals in this type of Art.
Wow, this is all so cool! Especially the wolf mosaic in the bathroom. I think I would want a dolphin in my bathroom, so beautiful!!!
These are all so beautiful! I love animals and art, so these are the perfect combination!
It totally reflects my own pet mood lately. Beautiful Mosaics too
They are so beautiful, I just can’t just choose one.
The mosaic tradition goes way back in history and it’s amazing to see the bond between humans and animals represented in mosaics.
Wow. These mosaics are absolutely gorgeous!! Such a beautiful way to celebrate animals.
Wow! We’re redoing our bathroom soon. Just love the wolf mosaic in the shower!
I love looking at mosaic art and I especially love that fish-pond mosaic art – it looks almost real 🙂
Those are such stunning art pieces! Love that dolphin mosaic art, so beautiful ?
Wow, such great designs! Love all of them!
These are so gorgeous! One of my top favorites is the Animalistic motifs on the Ishtar Gate.
Such beautiful mosaics. They are so lovely to view. 😉
This animal mosaic art is simply divine. I would love to see these works of art in person. They are gorgeous!
Wow, I agree that wolf mosaic is stunning – like you zoomed into a photo and can see every pixel. The armadillo is unique and I like that one too.
This is a great study. goes to show how many years it has been that animal human bind has been existetnt
The bond between animal and human is truly quite remarkable isn’t it? I have to say it was so interesting to read about the mosaic tradition and I particularly gasped at the Animalistic motifs on the Ishtar Gate. Beautiful.
OMG, these are amazing! I especially love the wolf in the bathroom 🙂
Louise x
Oh those mosaics are absolutely amazing. I love how they’ve captured so much detail.
This is such a wonderful form of art and I just love all of the wonderful pieces pictured above! Stunningly beautiful!
I loved all these pictures! The “man’s best friend pothole cover” looks identical to my dog!
These examples are all so pretty, I LOVE the look of mosaic art. My mother is a wolf lover BIG time and her bathroom is wolf-themed. I’m going to have to show her that shower wall behind the tub. I could see her doing something like that!
This article on animal mosaic art was so informative. I’ve genuinely learnt a lot of animal-human bonding and it’s depiction through mosaics. You’ve done an incredible amount of research to write this post! So well done!
mosaic art is incredibly fascinating to me. I wouldnt even know how to start something like that. The animals have so much detail.
the mosaic fox and dolphin have got me !! this is usable art! i would love something like that in my bathroom
Such a amazing designs! Animal art in bathroom looks beautiful.
The foxy one is best for me. It looks unique and definitely stands out.
This is so cool, to say the least. Great art! I love The Abduction of Persephone by Pluto mosaic.
The depth of the coy pond is incredible! We want to do tilework at our house, and I’d love to include some local desert animals in it!
These mosaics are so beautiful. The details are just tantalizing!
The fish pond is amazing! It’s unbelievable what these artists can do!
So much hard work and creativity that goes into each and every one of these designs
As always, these are beautiful. The fish pond mosaic is particularly amazing. Mosaics are such an old form of art. I find it fascinating to look back on the ones from 1,000s of years ago!
Just amazing how beautiful and lovely all this art is and being mosaic too makes it even more impressive x