Lot 46 | Two exquisite gilt silver and glass snuffboxes with cityscapes of rome in micro mosaic

TWO EXQUISITE GILT SILVER AND GLASS SNUFFBOXES WITH CITYSCAPES OF ROME IN MICRO MOSAIC.

Date: 19th century.
Maker/Designer: Mosaic Rome. Snuffbox Vienna Wien, J. C. Klinkosch.
Technique: Gilt silver. Tessera made of polychrome glass.
Description: Each rectangular with finely engraved architectural views. The slightly protruding rim of
the hinged lid with a circumferential relief border. The tops of the two boxes show a
bird's eye view of St. Peter's Square in Rome and the Forum Romanum with the Phocas Column
and the ruins of the Temple of the Dioscuri. Both views are crafted in the finest
micromosaic and are of exceptional quality.
Measurement: Each 3,5x7,5x5cm.
Mark: Inspection mark Vienna, maker's mark J.C. Klinkosch (founded 1797, delivering to the K.k. court since 1873).


Literature:
Hanisee Gabriel, Jeanette: The Gilbert Collection Micromosaics, London 2000. For the pictorial motifs cf. for example p.192, no.123.

On the tracks of the "Grand Tour
Since the Renaissance, the so-called "Grand Tour" was almost obligatory for the sons of the European nobility and later the upper middle classes, and an important part of their education. Besides Paris and Nice, the centres of antiquity such as Naples, Pompeii and of course Rome were among the most important destinations of the journey.
The tabatiers presented here are a wonderful example for the tradition of bringing back home some precious souvenirs from the legendary cavaliers' tour. The two finely crafted micromosaics, for example, show two - to this day - iconic views of the eternal city: St. Peter's Square and the Forum Romanum.
Rome was the centre for depictions in micromosaic in the 18th and 19th century. From the end of the 18th century, true wonders en miniature were created, especially in the Vatican workshops.