Lot 43 | Rome | EXTRAORDINARY WOODEN TABATIERE WITH MICROMOSAIC

EXTRAORDINARY WOODEN TABATIERE WITH MICROMOSAIC.

Rome.
Date: Ca. 1810.
Maker/Designer: In the style of Gioacchino Barberi (1783-1857).
Technique: Very small, polychrome tesserae. Root wood. Yellow gold.
Description: Rectangular shape. Delicate, rectangular micro-mosaic set into the top of the tabatiere,
framed by a narrow frame with leafy tendrils. The mosaic depicts an animated scene of a
wild boar hunt with hunting dogs in virtuoso craftsmanship. Mountain landscape with lake
in the background.
Measurement: 2,5x9x6cm.
Mark: Gold mount marked: Paris warranty for 840ct gold (Rosenberg No.6571, 6584), maker's mark JL with bird.
Wood of the lid with crack and mounting therefore loosely attached.

Provenance:
German aristrocratic ownership.

Literatur:
Hanisee Gabriel, Jeanette: The Gilbert Collection - Micromosaics, London 2000. See for comparison with Gioacchino Barberi p.70, cat. no.18.

The term 'micromosaic' was coined by Sir Arthur Gilbert, a businessman and art lover who was able to build up one of the most important collections of micromosaics over the course of many years. The so-called 'Rosalind and Arthur Gilbert Collection' is now kept in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The present box with its highly refined micromosaic and rather dramatic scene can be compared very favourably with a bonbonnière from the same collection. It shows a fight between a dog and a cat and was created by the Roman mosaic artist Gioacchino Barberi (1783-1857). Every detail, whether the teeth of the animals or the bark of the tree trunk, is composed of tiny glass stones, the so-called tesserae. These are only visible as individual stones at absolute close range and otherwise form an almost smooth surface reminiscent of enamel painting.