Ring
ca. 1800 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The two-dimensional representation of the urn and the regular positioning of the background tesserae suggest that this is an early micromosaic, about 1800. The long octagonal bezel is typical of rings of this date. Contemporary mourning rings can be found with similar urns made of gold or painted on ivory.
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, where they still undertake 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, where they still undertake 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
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Gold bezel set with a micromosaic |
Brief description | Ring with Antique vase, micromosaic and gold, ca. 1800, Rome, Italy. |
Physical description | Finger ring with a rectangular swivelling gold bezel, its cut corners inset with a micromosaic plaque depicting an antique urn. |
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: Sale, Christie's, lot 38, 15 and 17 November. S.J. Phillips, London, 1994. Historical significance: The representation of an antique vase is found in gold or painted on ivory at this date often on finger rings presented for mourning the memory of a loved one. |
Historical context | Antique subject matter became fashionable after the discovery of ancient ruins at Herculaneum, Paestum and Pompeii in the mid-eighteenth century. |
Summary | The two-dimensional representation of the urn and the regular positioning of the background tesserae suggest that this is an early micromosaic, about 1800. The long octagonal bezel is typical of rings of this date. Contemporary mourning rings can be found with similar urns made of gold or painted on ivory. 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, where they still undertake 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 | Gabriel, Jeanette Hanisee with contributions by Anna Maria Massinelli and essays by Judy Rudoe and Massimo Alfieri. Micromosaics: The Gilbert Collection. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. in association with The Gilbert Collection, 2000. 310 p., ill. Cat. no. 166, p. 233. ISBN 0856675113. |
Other numbers |
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Collection | |
Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.164-2008 |
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Record created | June 19, 2008 |
Record URL |
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