Commesso

{{use mdy dates|date=March 2017}}

{{for|the Italian road bicycle racer|Salvatore Commesso}}

Commesso, also referred to as Florentine mosaic, is a method of piecing together cut sections of luminous, narrow gemstones to form works of art.Encyclopædia Britannica (1998). Art – [https://www.britannica.com/art/commesso "Commesso"]. Encyclopaedia Britannica, inc. Accessed March 03, 2017. Precise patterns are cut into a slab of (generally black) marble. Gems are then cautiously cut and meticulously inlaid into these patterns. The work is then polished section by section, as it cannot be polished as a whole due to gems having different hardnesses.{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia=Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts: Mechanical and Chemical, Manufactures, Mining and Engineering | title=Mosaic | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AZU9AQAAMAAJ | editor=Tomlinson, Charles | publisher=J. S. Virtue | location=London and New York | year=1862 | volume=2; Hammer to Zirconium. | at=pp. 304–305; Florentine mosaic}} The practice, which began in Florence, Italy, dates back to at least the 14th century and gained prominence just before the 17th century. Some of its uses include making pictures and decorating furniture and architecture.