The Beautiful Sky of Italy
Table
1845 (made)
1845 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The original table, now at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, was commissioned by Nicholas I a year after his tour of Italy in 1845. The micromosaic surface depicts 8 scenes of places he visited along his travels: Piazza del Duomo, Milan; St Mark's Square, Venice; Piazza della Signoria, Florence; St Peter's Square and the Colosseum, Rome; the Riviera di Chiaia, Naples; Palermo Cathedral; the Harbour at Genoa. The Tsar commissioned the tabletop directly from Michelangelo Barberi, a master mosaicist whose work received international acclaim and even led him to Russia to assist in opening a mosaic studio. Barberi called his composition 'Il bel cielo d'Italia' (the beautiful sky of Italy).
The present table, commissioned by Francis Needham, Earl Kilmorey, is a variation of the Russian table, but it depicts putti playing instruments at its centre, instead of holding a portrait of Tsarina Alexandra. This table was exhibited in London at the Great Exhibition of 1851 where it received a Council Medal, the highest honour awarded.
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 present table, commissioned by Francis Needham, Earl Kilmorey, is a variation of the Russian table, but it depicts putti playing instruments at its centre, instead of holding a portrait of Tsarina Alexandra. This table was exhibited in London at the Great Exhibition of 1851 where it received a Council Medal, the highest honour awarded.
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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| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Title | The Beautiful Sky of Italy (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Micromosaic and cast, ormolu |
| Brief description | Ormolu table with mosaic 'Beautiful sky of Italy'. Michelangelo Barberi, Rome, 1845 |
| Physical description | Circular micromosaic tabletop depicting a central group of four genii floating in the open sky, bearing the attributes of painting, music, architecture and sculpture. Around the circumference are eight views of Italian cities: Piazza del Duomo, Milan; St. Mark's Square, Venice; Piazza della Signoria, Florence; St. Peter's Square, Rome; the Colosseum, Rome; the Riviera di Chiaia, Naples; Palermo Cathedral and the Harbour at Genoa. The table base is gilt bronze and consists of four legs surmounted with rams heads. |
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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: Francis Needham, Earl of Kilmorey, 1787-1880. Dr. Ricks, Oklahoma City, 1974. Historical significance: Michelangelo Barberi (1787-1867) known as 'Cavaliere' was the leading micromosaicist of the 19th century. His brothers were painters and his father Camillo was an architect, painter and designer. Camillo served as Director of Fortifications and Prisons for Italy following his meeting with the Emperor Napoleon in Milan in 1804. The family lived in Paris for a while but returned to Rome during the reign of Pius VII (1800-1823). Michelangelo was apprenticed to Cesare Aguatti and worked from 1820 in the Vatican Workshop. From the 1820s his table tops were in demand by European nobility and he set up shop at 148 Via Rasella near Piazza di Spagna where his daughter later ran the business. He published 'Alcuni Musaici usciti dallo studio del Cav. Michel'angelo Barberi'. The Barberi shop also produced smaller mosaics illustrating literary subjects from Dante, Tasso and Manzoni. Barberi executed views of Rome for the villa of Prince Demidoff (1813-1870) in Florence. By 1856 he had been elected a member of the prestigious Institution of Virtuosos at the Pantheon and was named Commander of the Order of St. Sylvester by Pius IX. |
| Historical context | This table was made for Francis Needham, Earl of Kilmorey and shown at the Great Exhibition in London, 1851. Kilmorey was MP for Newry and Morne, Co. Down, Ireland. His first wife was Jane, daughter of George Gun-Cunninghame; his second was Martha, daughter of John Foster of Lenham, Kent. The Needhams lived at Mourne Park, Kilkeel, County Down and Shavington Hall, Moreton Say, Shropshire. |
| Places depicted | |
| Summary | The original table, now at the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, was commissioned by Nicholas I a year after his tour of Italy in 1845. The micromosaic surface depicts 8 scenes of places he visited along his travels: Piazza del Duomo, Milan; St Mark's Square, Venice; Piazza della Signoria, Florence; St Peter's Square and the Colosseum, Rome; the Riviera di Chiaia, Naples; Palermo Cathedral; the Harbour at Genoa. The Tsar commissioned the tabletop directly from Michelangelo Barberi, a master mosaicist whose work received international acclaim and even led him to Russia to assist in opening a mosaic studio. Barberi called his composition 'Il bel cielo d'Italia' (the beautiful sky of Italy). The present table, commissioned by Francis Needham, Earl Kilmorey, is a variation of the Russian table, but it depicts putti playing instruments at its centre, instead of holding a portrait of Tsarina Alexandra. This table was exhibited in London at the Great Exhibition of 1851 where it received a Council Medal, the highest honour awarded. 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.894:1, 2-2008 |
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| Record created | June 26, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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