Plaque
1825 (made)
Place of origin |
This plaque depicts Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, who were rescued as infants from the river Tiber by a female wolf. The wolf raised the twins until they were discovered by the shepherd Faustulus.
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 | |
Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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Materials and techniques | Glass micromosaic and gilt metal |
Brief description | Plaque depicting Faustulus discovering Romulus and Remus, micromosaic, Rome, ca.1825. |
Physical description | Circular micromosaic miniature plaque of Faustulus discovering Romulus and Remus, within a gilt frame. |
Gallery label | 1. Plaque with Romulus and Remus, about 1825
Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.206:1-2008(16/11/2016) |
Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
Object history | Provenance: Amadeo di Castro, Rome. Historical significance: An almost identical plaque formerly in the Karabanov collection is at the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This plaque depicts Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, who were rescued as infants from the river Tiber by a female wolf. The wolf raised the twins until they were discovered by the shepherd Faustulus. 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 references |
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Other numbers |
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Collection | |
Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.206:1, 2-2008 |
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Record created | June 26, 2008 |
Record URL |
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