Perfume Flask
ca.1810 (made)
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Thirteen mosaics including ancient ruins, birds, animals and flowers decorate this pocket-size perfume flask.
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
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| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Carved green lava, gold and micromosaic |
| Brief description | Perfume Flask, carved green lava, gold and micromosaic, probably Rome, c. 1810. |
| Physical description | Green lava flask of long rectilinear form with gold mounts, and embellished with thirteen small micromosaic panels with a pug dog, flowers, birds and views of classical buildings. |
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| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Object history | Provenance: Collection: Antiques Corner, London. Historical significance: This perfume bottle was a charming souvenir for a lady tourist. It could easily be carried and the combination of lava ground and views of classical ruins and motifs such as doves associated with classical antiquity demonstrated the cultural gains of the Grand Tour. |
| Historical context | The hardstone has been identified as lava which was probably used as a reference to the volcanic eruption that buried the ancient city of Pompeii. Excavated in 1748, Pompeii became an important source of antique motifs. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Thirteen mosaics including ancient ruins, birds, animals and flowers decorate this pocket-size perfume flask. 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. |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.163:1 to 3-2008 |
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| Record created | June 26, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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