Bonbonnière
1800-1810 (made), 1850-1900 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
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 developed in the 18th century, in the Vatican Mosaic Workshop in Rome, where they still undertake restoration work today.
Images of animals attacking prey, such as hawk, have a long tradition going back to the floor mosaics of Roman antiquity. These images were circulated by artists like Johann Wenzel Peter (1745-1829), and eventually became the subject of a revival during the necolassical period, and hence an inspiration to mosaicists.
This mosaic is set in a circular glass lid, made of purpurin glass. This blood-red glass was known in Roman antiquity as haematinum, derived from Greek haimátinos ("of blood"), but its exact composition was only rediscovered in the mid 19th-century. Among others, chemist Max Joseph von Pettenkofer was challenged to identify the correct composition by King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who aimed to emulate antiquity in his ambitious art commissions. Pettenkofer reported success in 1853, several years after the king's abdication in 1848. The process was soon used by glass makers across Europe.
This means that the mosaic predates its setting by about fifty years, the very period when micromosaics evolved from an avantgarde art form to a defining technique which continued to attract patronage from the highest places. The base of the box in contrast is made in painted wood which closely matches the glass top, and appears to be a fairly recent replacement.
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.
Images of animals attacking prey, such as hawk, have a long tradition going back to the floor mosaics of Roman antiquity. These images were circulated by artists like Johann Wenzel Peter (1745-1829), and eventually became the subject of a revival during the necolassical period, and hence an inspiration to mosaicists.
This mosaic is set in a circular glass lid, made of purpurin glass. This blood-red glass was known in Roman antiquity as haematinum, derived from Greek haimátinos ("of blood"), but its exact composition was only rediscovered in the mid 19th-century. Among others, chemist Max Joseph von Pettenkofer was challenged to identify the correct composition by King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who aimed to emulate antiquity in his ambitious art commissions. Pettenkofer reported success in 1853, several years after the king's abdication in 1848. The process was soon used by glass makers across Europe.
This means that the mosaic predates its setting by about fifty years, the very period when micromosaics evolved from an avantgarde art form to a defining technique which continued to attract patronage from the highest places. The base of the box in contrast is made in painted wood which closely matches the glass top, and appears to be a fairly recent replacement.
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 | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Purpurine glass, painted wood, glass micromosaic and gold. |
| Brief description | Bonbonnière with hawk devouring a cockerel. Micromosaic, glass, painted wood, gold, probably Giacomo Raffaelli, Rome, 1800-10; the box: lid 1850-1900; the base a comparatively recent wood replacement |
| Physical description | A circular red box, the cover set with a gold framed mosaic depicting a hawk on a rock with out-spread wings, its talons clutching the back of a dead cockerel. The cover of the box is made of purpurine glass, while the base is made of wood painted red. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Gallery label |
|
| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Object history | Provenance: Hancocks of London. Historical significance: This mosaic bonbonnière is attributed to Giacomo Raffaelli who became one of the most celebrated artists in the fields of mosaics and hardstones and is credited with the invention of micromosaics in 1775. By 1780 he was supplying the Dresden Court Jeweller, Johann Christian Neuber (1736-1808) with micromosaics for gold snuffboxes. |
| Historical context | Mosaic subjects depciting predators and their prey were popular and mainly derived from the work of Wenceslaus Peter (1742-1829) an animal painter who is recorded as supplying mosaicists with drawings of his work. He decorated the Galleria Borghese with frescos of animals. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | 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 developed in the 18th century, in the Vatican Mosaic Workshop in Rome, where they still undertake restoration work today. Images of animals attacking prey, such as hawk, have a long tradition going back to the floor mosaics of Roman antiquity. These images were circulated by artists like Johann Wenzel Peter (1745-1829), and eventually became the subject of a revival during the necolassical period, and hence an inspiration to mosaicists. This mosaic is set in a circular glass lid, made of purpurin glass. This blood-red glass was known in Roman antiquity as haematinum, derived from Greek haimátinos ("of blood"), but its exact composition was only rediscovered in the mid 19th-century. Among others, chemist Max Joseph von Pettenkofer was challenged to identify the correct composition by King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who aimed to emulate antiquity in his ambitious art commissions. Pettenkofer reported success in 1853, several years after the king's abdication in 1848. The process was soon used by glass makers across Europe. This means that the mosaic predates its setting by about fifty years, the very period when micromosaics evolved from an avantgarde art form to a defining technique which continued to attract patronage from the highest places. The base of the box in contrast is made in painted wood which closely matches the glass top, and appears to be a fairly recent replacement. 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 references |
|
| Other numbers |
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.471:1, 2-2008 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 26, 2008 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
