This mosaic was probably the best example of a Jesse Rust glass mosaic I’ve come across in the 20 years I’ve been working with mosaic. Jesse Rust was a late Victorian glass maker from Battersea who attempted to make his own version of Italian Smalti glass for mosaic.  His floors appeared in the Victoria and Albert Museum and many major properties in London and across the country.

This mosaic was in an entrance to a property in London’s Cadogan Square which had become very damaged in the past mainly from having tiles stuck to its surface and the bedding screed failing. Tesserae were salvaged from the entrance area and used to put right the many problems with the floor.  These glass tiles are not produced anymore which made the restoration very hard as running out was not an option.

The problem areas were traced and re-made in our workshop, taken to site and installed.  The floor was cleaned multiple times and re-waxed for protection in the future.