Snuffbox
1800-1825 (made)
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The depiction of dogs, a symbol of faithful love, was popular in the 19th century. This image by Antonio Aguatti was copied by many other mosaicists.
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
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| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Micromosaic, tortoiseshell, copper and gold |
| Brief description | Oval snuffbox with spaniel, Rome. Antonio Aguatti, 1800-25 |
| Physical description | An oval tortoiseshell, gold and copper snuffbox, the cover set with an oval micromosaic depicting a black and white spaniel dog sitting in a field with a landscape in the background and the trunk of a small tree to the left. The image is signed by the artist in tesserae. |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Signed 'Aguatti' for Antonio Aguatti, in tesserae, bottom centre. |
| 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: J. Kugel, Paris, 1973. Historical significance: Antonio Aguatti's studio was at 96 Piazza di Spagna, Rome. He was regarded as amongst the top twenty most distinguished mosaicists. His studio was responsible for developing the geometric shapes and the fused colours of micromosaic tesserae and thus the painterly quality of the medium. His table with Cupid in a Chariot is also in the Gilbert Collection but not currently on display. |
| Historical context | Dogs were symbolic of faithful love and representations of dogs were thus appropriate gifts to a loved one. The popularity of paintings representing domestic pets was developed by the English artist Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-72) who influenced European painters as well. The French critic Theophile Gautier (1811-72) wrote of Landseer that he gave 'his beloved animals soul, thought, poetry and passion'. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | The depiction of dogs, a symbol of faithful love, was popular in the 19th century. This image by Antonio Aguatti was copied by many other mosaicists. 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. |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.489:1, 2-2008 |
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| Record created | June 26, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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