Plaque
1800-1825 (made)
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The subject of this plaque is after a painting of 1653-4 by Baroque Italian painterm Salvator Rosa (1615-73), now in the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, USA (no.32-192/1). The scene depicts the myth of Jupiter and Io. Io is the white cow by the riverbank, who had previously been Jupiter's lover. Io was transformed by Jupiter to avoid the wrath of his wife, Juno. Mercury is lulling her guard, Argus, to sleep in order to kill him and set her free.
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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| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Micromosaic, partially gilded metal frame |
| Brief description | Plaque with Mercury and Argus near a river, micromosaic, partially gilded metal frame, Rome, 1800-25. |
| Physical description | A rectangular miniature portraying two males and a white cow beside a river overhung with large trees in a landscape. One figure is seated on the ground before the other, who is seated playing a pipe. The outer frame is mercury gilt copper, the inner frame is pure silver. |
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| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Object history | Provenance: Yosi Benyaminoff, New York, 1976. Historical significance: The story from classical mythology behind this scene is that of Jupiter and Juno. Jupiter loves Io but to conceal her presence from his wife, Juno, he changes her into a heifer. Juno, knowing the truth, asks for the heifer as a gift which she then delivers to Argus with instructions that he should guard it. Out of pity Jupiter sends Mercury to kill Argus and free Io. Here we see Mercury playing his pipe to lull Argus to sleep before killing him. The white cow is Io. |
| Historical context | Micromosaics after the painter Salvator Rosa (1615-73) are exceptionally rare. There is a micromosaic plaque of the same subject set into a lapis lazuli snuffbox in the V&A's collection. |
| Production | After Salvator Rosa |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | The subject of this plaque is after a painting of 1653-4 by Baroque Italian painterm Salvator Rosa (1615-73), now in the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, USA (no.32-192/1). The scene depicts the myth of Jupiter and Io. Io is the white cow by the riverbank, who had previously been Jupiter's lover. Io was transformed by Jupiter to avoid the wrath of his wife, Juno. Mercury is lulling her guard, Argus, to sleep in order to kill him and set her free. 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.211:1, 2-2008 |
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| Record created | June 26, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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