Snuffbox
ca. 1825 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
These doves, also known as the Capitoline Doves or Doves of Pliny, appear frequently on micromosaics. The image comes from a Roman floor mosaic discovered in 1737 at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, which in turn is believed to be a copy of a lost ancient Greek mosaic at Pergamon. The original is described by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, completed in 77AD.
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, which continues to 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, which continues to 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
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Purpurine glass, glass micromosaic and gilded silver (silver-gilt) |
| Brief description | Snuffbox with Capitoline doves, micromosaic, purpurine glass, gilt frame, Rome, ca.1825 |
| Physical description | Rectangular red purpurine snuffbox, the cover applied with a rectangular glass micromosaic within a silver-gilt frame, the mosaic depicting the Capitoline doves - four doves sitting on the rim of a basin of water. The micromosaic is within a gilt silver and copper alloy frame. |
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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: Ivano Constantini, Rome, 1975. Historical significance: The mosaic from Hadrian's Villa was eventually displayed at the Musei Capitolini where the original can be seen today. |
| Historical context | The subject matter was originally copied from an ancient floor mosaic found in 1737 at Hadrian's Villa (AD 125-33). It was associated with a description from the Elder Pliny of a Greek, second century BC mosaic at Pergamon: 'Among these mosaics is a marvellous dove drinking and casting the shadow of its head on the water. Other doves are pluming their feathers in the sun on the lip of a goblet'. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | These doves, also known as the Capitoline Doves or Doves of Pliny, appear frequently on micromosaics. The image comes from a Roman floor mosaic discovered in 1737 at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, which in turn is believed to be a copy of a lost ancient Greek mosaic at Pergamon. The original is described by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, completed in 77AD. 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, which continues to 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 reference | Gabriel, Jeanette Hanisee with contributions by Anna Maria Massinelli and essays by Judy Rudoe and Massimo Alfieri. Micromosaics: The Gilbert Collection. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. in association with The Gilbert Collection, 2000. 310 p., ill. Cat. no. 141, p. 210. ISBN 0856675113. |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.470-2008 |
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| Record created | June 19, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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