ITALIAN, CIRCA 13TH CENTURY, PROBABLY ROME, NOW MOUNTED AS A LOW TABLE

In later Middle Ages, a number of Roman families with architectural and decorative workshops in Via Lata and the Trevi district of Rome perfected a new kind of opus sectile (cut stone) mosaic work. They would cut pieces of coloured stone and glass and arrange them in intricate interweaving geometric patterns, inset in white marble. Some of the family members signed their work with the name Cosma, and collectively they are known as the Cosmati.
A preference for angular designs, very small pieces of stone and the occasional use of glass all came from the Islamic tradition. Through the 12th and 13th centuries, successive generations of Cosmati designed and created the most exquisitely intricate pavements in the churches of Rome. Their work became so famous that patrons of other churches in other cities would pay handsomely to have the new paving installed, like the sanctuary pavement of Westminster Abbey in London, which was commissioned by King Henry III. The genuine Cosmati tradition ended at the beginning of the 14th century, but it has influenced generations of architects, artists and crafstmen.

See for comparable designs and more information M.T. Price, Decorative Stone, London 2007, pp. 208-209; P.C. Claussen,'Marmi antichi nel medioevo romano. l'Arte dei Cosmati', pp. 65-79, in: Et. al., Marmi Antichi, Roma 2004; Dario del Bufalo, 'Reimpiego dei marmi antichi tra medioevo e rinascimento', pp. 43-122, in: Marmi Colorati, Milano 2003.