Snuffbox
ca. 1800 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The term 'micromosaic' is used to describe mosaics made of the smallest glass pieces. Some micromosaics contain more than 5000 pieces per square inch. The earliest attempts at micromosaic revealed visible joins between the pieces (known as tesserae) and a lack of perspective. Later artists made huge advances in micromosaic technique, resulting in renderings that were truer to life. Glass micromosaic technique developed in the 18th century, in the Vatican Mosaic Workshop in Rome, where they still undertake restoration work today.
This is a fairly early example of a micromosaic with a still quite limited range of colours and shapes of tesserae. The imagery is inspired by ancient Roman art: bears, dogs and deer were all popular subjects on Roman floor mosaics and wall paintings. The base panel shows a chariot with a stag and hind just released from the harness, possibly an allusion to the chariot of the goddess Diana.
Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
This is a fairly early example of a micromosaic with a still quite limited range of colours and shapes of tesserae. The imagery is inspired by ancient Roman art: bears, dogs and deer were all popular subjects on Roman floor mosaics and wall paintings. The base panel shows a chariot with a stag and hind just released from the harness, possibly an allusion to the chariot of the goddess Diana.
Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
Object details
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Chased gold, glass micromosaic |
Brief description | Snuffbox with polar bear and hound. Gold, micromosaic. Probably Rome, ca.1800 |
Physical description | A rectangular, gold-mounted micromosaic snuffbox with canted corners, the cover with a mosaic depicting a polar bear and a hound playing with an apple under a tree, the base with a mosaic of a stag and a hind and a chariot. |
Dimensions |
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Gallery label |
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Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
Object history | Provenance: Martin Foster sale, Christie's London, 5 July 1977, lot 211. |
Historical context | The bear and hound may be copied from a painting by Vallati, a specialist animal painter whose work was regularly used as sources for micromosaics. A mosaic entitled Deer Hunt, given to President Eisenhower (in office 1953-61) by Italy's President Gronchi (1887-1978) was apparently based on a painting by Vallati. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | The term 'micromosaic' is used to describe mosaics made of the smallest glass pieces. Some micromosaics contain more than 5000 pieces per square inch. The earliest attempts at micromosaic revealed visible joins between the pieces (known as tesserae) and a lack of perspective. Later artists made huge advances in micromosaic technique, resulting in renderings that were truer to life. Glass micromosaic technique developed in the 18th century, in the Vatican Mosaic Workshop in Rome, where they still undertake restoration work today. This is a fairly early example of a micromosaic with a still quite limited range of colours and shapes of tesserae. The imagery is inspired by ancient Roman art: bears, dogs and deer were all popular subjects on Roman floor mosaics and wall paintings. The base panel shows a chariot with a stag and hind just released from the harness, possibly an allusion to the chariot of the goddess Diana. Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996. |
Bibliographic references |
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Other numbers |
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Collection | |
Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.431-2008 |
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Record created | June 19, 2008 |
Record URL |
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