Snuffbox
ca. 1825 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The cover of this snuffbox is set with a glass micromosaic panel signed on the cover 'Calandrelli', the maker of the piece. It depicts a classical landscape with figures by a stream, in the French seventeenth-century style, bordered by coloured gold flowers and foliage chased in relief.
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 such as Antonio Aguatti 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, which still undertakes restoration work today.
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.
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 such as Antonio Aguatti 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, which still undertakes restoration work today.
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 | Engine turned and chased varicoloured-gold and glass micromosaic |
| Brief description | Rectangular, varicoloured-gold snuffbox, the cover set with a micromosaic panel depicting a classical landscape with figures by a stream, in the French seventeenth century style, bordered by coloured gold flowers and foliage chased in relief. |
| Physical description | Rectangular, varicoloured-gold snuffbox, the cover set with a glass micromosaic panel depicting a classical landscape with figures by a stream, in the French seventeenth-century style, bordered by coloured gold flowers and foliage chased in relief. The base is engine-turned. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Signed on the cover 'Calandrelli' |
| 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 Acquired by Arthur Gilbert from S.J. Phillips Ltd, London, 1995 Historical significance: Tomaso Calandrelli was working in the Vatican Mosaic Workshops in about 1825 when he is listed as producing a mosaic titled Addolorata after Guido Reni (1575-1642) |
| Historical context | Similar to Lot 22, Important Silver, Gold Boxes & Objects of Vertu, Sotheby's, London, 29 November, 2006. Micromosaic Plaque, Rome early 19th century, applied to lid of a rounded rectangular nephrite box, unmarked, 20th century. |
| Production | The mosaic by Tomaso Calandrelli, Rome, c. 1825 |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The cover of this snuffbox is set with a glass micromosaic panel signed on the cover 'Calandrelli', the maker of the piece. It depicts a classical landscape with figures by a stream, in the French seventeenth-century style, bordered by coloured gold flowers and foliage chased in relief. 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 such as Antonio Aguatti 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, which still undertakes restoration work today. 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 reference | Truman, Charles. The Gilbert collection of gold boxes, volume II. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd., 1999, cat. no.64, p. 100. ISBN.0856675210 |
| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.430-2008 |
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| Record created | June 19, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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