opus sectile

opus sectile (Latin: ‘cut work’).
An inlaid design made of pieces of marble that are individually shaped to fit the pattern or picture, as distinct from mosaic, where the design is built up from countless small pieces (tesserae) of stone or glass. It is a rarer and more luxurious art than mosaic, since the plates of marble are larger, more fragile, and more precious than tesserae; and it was in Egypt and Asia Minor, lands rich in coloured marble, that it had its origin. The Book of Esther (1: 6) describes ‘a pavement of red and blue and white and black marble’ in the palace of Ahasuerus (probably to be identified with the Persian king Xerxes I). However, little survives from before the time of the Romans, who used opus sectile extensively for wall and floor decoration. It was later used in Early Christian and Byzantine churches, and evolved into more specialized crafts such as Cosmati work. Geometrical opus sectile continued to be popular in Italy for decorating church floors throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance.