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least up to the first half of the 8th century CE.
Piccirillo proposes that a team of itinerant
mosaicists decorated three mosaic pavements.
Two are at Mt. Nebo, namely the two lateral
south chapels—the Baptistry Chapel and the Theodokos
Chapel of the Basilica of Moses, and the
Church of the Lions at Umm al-Rasas (Piccirillo
1993: 150-151,236, 240, figs. 173, 200, 338, 340,
373, 376, 378; 1992: 211-225; 1995: 393-394,
397; 1998: 304-306, 367). The similarities among
the three pavements are in the field border, and in
their programmes, that is, the rectangular panels
in front of the altar decorated with two gazelles,
bulls, or lions facing each other between trees
replete with fruits or flowers. The resemblance is
also seen in the gazelle in the Theotokos Chapel
and the gazelle in the Church of the Lions. The
Church of the Lions has a different inhabited
acanthus scrolls field from those at the Church
of the Rivers and the Church of Bishop Sergius.
All three pavements suffered from the iconoclastic
crisis. Piccirillo (1998: 306) contends that the
same team of mosaicists produced the three mosaics
‘rather than the different teams simply used
the same models’. Piccirillo (1995: 393, 397) concludes
that the craftsmen of these workshops ‘used
the same sketchbook circulating among them,
although they differentiate from each other in
the final result’.
The mosaic pavements of the Church of St. Stephen
at Umm al-Rasas–Kastron Mefaa (Piccirillo
1993: 35-36, 200-201, figs. 299-312) were laid by
two different teams of mosaicists who left their
inscriptions. The geometric pavements according
to an inscription were created by Staurachius son
of Zada from Hesban (Esbus) with his colleague
Euremius in 756. An anonymous group worked
on the nave pavement and left an inscription:
‘O Lord remember your servants the mosaicists,
whose names you know’ (Piccirillo 1993: 47, 238,
figs. 346, 384; Dunbabin 1999: 203). Piccirillo
(1998: 364, 367; 2001: 632) suggests that on the
basis of the method of writing the mosaicists Staurachius
and Euremius were also responsible for
the work on the contemporary mosaics of the
church of the Virgin Mary at Madaba (767) and
the restored mosaic of the Theotokos Chapel in
the monastery at #Ayn al-Kanisah on Mt. Nebo
(in 762); they were the last mosaicists to work in
the Madaba–Mt. Nebo region.
Iconoclasm and repair on these mosaics is
salient. The iconoclasts evidently disfigured the
chapter twelve
animated figures of the composition, but were
careful to repair the mosaics, changing the motifs,
possibly with the same tesserae.
*
The many mosaic pavements of Palaestina and
Arabia reveal and attest to the achievements of
a great number of workshops and schools, but
with their own preferences and tendencies. The
workshops, many in villages and rural communities,
might have been established by, and operated
from large centres; some of the mosaicists might
have been itinerant, travelling the area for their
work. Dunbabin (1999: 193-194, 197) claims that
the mosaicists who worked on the mosaics in the
area from the 5th century on must have come
from centres in Syria.
The mosaic pavements show differences in
execution and design, indicating preference of
some motifs and compositions by craftsmen or
workshops; some demonstrate local inclinations,
regional uniqueness, and the idiosyncrasy of the
individual craftsman. Many distinctive details
and features are repeated, occasionally sharing
the same basic scheme sometimes with identical
elements. Based on the various designs of the
inhabited scrolls Dauphin (1987: 189) maintains
that the geographical distribution is significant in
defining workshops.
Dunbabin (1999: 301-302) accurately concludes,
‘The standard repertory is composed of
schemata on the basis of which figures, groups
and scenes can be constructed. The use of such
figural schemata was used for many subjects…
The craftsmen’s role was to combine, to vary,
and to embellish these schemata, and to distribute
them over the surface to be decorated, but
seldom to invent completely afresh’.
It may be reasonably inferred that Jewish artists
from families with long traditions of inherited
craftsmanship worked primarily for Jews, but
were also employed by Christians and pagans.
This may be deduced from the similarities among
stylistic features of synagogues, churches, and
temples in the Galilee and Syria, and also by
synagogal and church architecture and mosaic
art, particularly during the sixth century. Contemporary
Jewish literature namely the Talmud
(BT Sanhedrin 29a), mentions the existence of
Jewish artists and craftsmen who also worked for
Christians and pagans, as well as the attitude of