Powell & Sons' opus sectile: innovation in glass mosaics, 1860s-1890s

Lily Crowther, Curator, Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum, and DPhil student, University of Oxford and Victoria and Albert Museum Wednesday 4 October 2023, 7pm (UK) (online webinar) Leading stained-glass makers James Powell & Sons developed a new type of mosaic tiling material in the early 1860s. The vibrantly coloured opaque tiles, known later as opus sectile, were especially popular in church interiors, where they were used for polychrome tiled floors as well as fresco-like mural decoration. This talk will introduce new research which has revealed more about the early history of opus sectile, and particularly how the material was collected and promoted by the South Kensington Museum. Lily Crowther is Curator of the social history and decorative art collections at Leamington Spa Art Gallery & Museum. She is also reading for a DPhil at Oxford University and the Victoria & Albert Museum; her research focuses on the collections and legacies of the Museum of Construction & Building Materials, which was part of the South Kensington Museum in the 1850s-1880s.