An exceptionally fine antique Italian Grand Tour micromosaic pair of earrings with their original hooks created at the Vatican Mosaic Studio from the early 1800s. One depicts the Pantheon and the other depicts part of the Roman forum. The micromosaics are within an exquisite setting of Onyx surrounded by sterling silver mounts and their original hooks.
Around 1775, the mosaicists Giacomo Raffaelli and Cesare Aguatti “rediscovered” the technique of “spun enamel” mosaic, already used at the beginning of the 1600s by the mosaicist of the Vatican school, Marcello Provenzale, whereby miniscule tesserae were obtained by the section of enamel rods formed in fusion. The two mosaicists produced the first “minute mosaics” or “micromosaics”, ushering in a new era of mosaic that became “miniaturized” and was used to decorate small everyday objects such as boxes, tobacco boxes and jewellery. Micromosaics became the most sought-after souvenirs of Rome, even by the aristocracy on the “Grand Tour”.
During the first half of the 19th century it was customary for the ladies in the Grand Tour to have a parure in gold or gilt silver made of plaquettes in micro mosaic, each of which illustrated a different location.
The mosaicists of the Studio were the most skilful interpreters of this technique, so much so that the popes themselves commissioned gifts for European sovereigns such as the famous table with the representation of Achilles’ shield that Pope Leo XIII gave in 1826 to Charles X, King of France.
MATERIAL:
Onyx, Glass, Sterling Silver
AGE:
Early 1800s
CONDITION:
Excellent – Surface wear commensurate with age and wear
SIZE:
Diameter 1.5 cm
Please read descriptions and inspect photos carefully, paying careful attention to size and weight. Due to the age of antique and vintage jewelry, minor abrasions and wear of finishes is normal and appreciated. All items have been tested to be in working/usable condition, unless otherwise stated. Please take care to understand safe cleaning methods for each type of gem and metal. Jewelry pieces are carefully wrapped, ribboned and shipped in an elegant velvet box. Antique boxes in photos are for illustrative purposes only.
Micromosaics are a type of mosaic created from tiny fragments of glass, called tesserae. The tesserae are mosaic pieces made from an opaque vitreous glass or enamel in a multitude of colors called smalto. The smalto is pulled into rods or threads, called filati (spun enamel), and then left to cool. After cooling, it is cut into hundreds of minute cubes or tesserae and arranged on a copper or gold tray to create a scene, portrait, or landscape. During the mid-nineteenth century, black Belgian marble or “Noir Belge” was carved out and used as the background or base.
The metal or stone supports are then filled with mastic or cement upon which the tesserae are carefully placed and arranged into the desired image. Once the mastic has hardened, the gaps between the tesserae are filled with colored wax and the whole picture is polished to achieve a smooth and even surface.
It is an extremely laborious and painstaking art form. The mosaicist uses tweezers to apply hundreds, sometimes thousands, of tiny tesserae to create incredibly detailed and beautiful scenes. These mosaics could be fairly large panels or plaques inset on table tops or mounted on the wall, but more commonly they were made into much smaller oval or circular plaques that were worn as jewelry, incorporated into pendants, necklaces, earrings, brooches, and rings. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, these plaques were often made in Rome, and exported to London or Paris where they were mounted in jewelry.
