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Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Mosaic Objects by Amy Gale Mosaic Is an Old Technique That Dates Back More Than 5,000 Years

Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Mosaic Objects by Amy Gale Mosaic Is an Old Technique That Dates Back More Than 5,000 Years

Landscape . (Sotheby’s, London, ‘Doves of Pliny’ Plaque, late 19thC. (Skinner, ‘Doves of Pliny’ bonbon box. (Christie’s, New November 29, 2006, lot 21, £30,000/$58,500) July 16, 2005, lot 600, £2,478/$4,348) The York, October 27, 2005, lot 98, £2,365/$4,200) The of Claude Lorrain exerted a Doves of Pliny were arguably the most rarified influence on mosaic design. important mosaic motif during 18th & 19thC. Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Mosaic Objects by Amy Gale Mosaic is an old technique that dates back more than 5,000 years. These small mosaics were sold to foreigners visiting hence During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, however, it was the popularity of tourist motifs. Scenes of ancient ruins were associated with ancient . Thanks to its classical heritage, popular. A view of the Colosseum, made by Cesare Roccheggiani the mosaic once again flourished, and was used to decorate a range during the second half of the nineteenth century, is representative of of objects, from snuff boxes to tabletops. Despite its history, the this taste. So precise is the mosaic it is possible to look through the medium was revived first as a substitute for painting. Mosaic was arcades to the see the interior of the Colosseum. By using thousands used for the decoration of St. Peter’s in Rome, beginning in of tesserae, Roccheggiani also shows the uneven cobblestone road the late sixteenth century. Painting proved to be too fragile in the and shadowy foreground. The mosaic plaque measures 11 inches in damp cavernous church, so some of the most important works were diameter: the final bid last winter was £9,600. transposed to mosaic, a more durable medium. The execution of Tourists were also the market for the kitschy mosaics depicting these monumental mosaics took more than two centuries. Roman peasants. Another important theme, and one of the few During that time, there were significant technical problems that without any regional association, were animals. Many dog mosaics needed to be overcome. At first, the tesserae (that is, the tiny pieces were copied from the work of well known painters. The work of that were arranged to make the mosaic) were too shiny. Then there Claude Lorrain was a more rarified source for mosaic designers. was the need for a wider range of colours. Finding a slow-drying They made the most of his appeal to grand tourists, by transposing ground, or adhesive, that made possible the painstaking work, was his ideal landscapes of the Roman countryside to small plaques. In another challenge for the papal workshops. Progress was slow but the early nineteenth century, a craftsman made a mosaic of ‘Rebecca obvious, even for visitors with no artistic pretensions. Samuel Sharp Taking Leave of her Father,’ which Lorrain painted in 1640-41. was a London surgeon who visited Rome during the 1760s. The mosaicist was probably working from an , although Unusually for the period, his Letters from are a chronicle of he may have seen the painting, which had been brought back to belligerent loathing and flagrant boredom. The Vatican mosaic Rome by Lucien Bonaparte at the beginning of the century. Most of workshop was one of the few bright spots. Sharp’s enthusiasm for the details are retained, despite the reduction in size. The classical the costly and meticulous decoration was effusive. “It is certain that ruins, which were central to the appeal of Lorrain’s paintings, are the artists improve daily,” he wrote. “I observe that the late works clearly featured, as are the wispy clouds, the cattle, and the greatly excel those done some years since, which on a close reflection of the bridge in the water. The original painting is 23.25 inspection, appear in places uneven and coarse.” The ‘improve- inches high by 31 inches long. The mosaic version is a mere 3.75 ment’ he observed related to an increasingly painterly style, with the inches wide: it sold at auction last autumn for £30,000. enamel tesserae becoming smaller and more densely arranged. Curiously, only one had an enduring influence on The small decorative objects were an offshoot of the church modern mosaic design. This was the “Doves of Pliny,” a mosaic mosaics. Beginning in the eighteenth century, penurious craftsmen from the second century that was arguably the single most important began moonlighting for the tourist trade. These early pieces were (to motif for eighteenth and nineteenth century mosaicists. The original borrow Sharp’s phrase) ‘uneven and coarse.’ It took many years for was excavated at Hadrian’s in Tivoli, in the 1730s, and mosaicists to master working efficiently on a small scale. At the acquired for the Capitoline Museum in the 1760s. It was at first Vatican studio, a team of salaried craftsmen could afford to spend believed to be the same mosaic that was described by the Roman years working on one large mosaic. The privately employed did not philosopher Pliny. The realization that the mosaic was made after have this freedom. To make a profit, they had to turn out quickly Pliny’s death, did not in the least diminish its status as a grand tour many small pieces. A bonbon dish from the 1780s, which has a . Its popularity with mosaic collectors makes it easy to trace the mosaic butterfly inset on the lid, is characteristic of early progress to a more painterly and naturalistic style. Versions made in production. The mosaic looks crude in comparison with the large the late eighteenth century look like mosaics while those made in mosaic panels. It was made using only a few colours, and there are the mid nineteenth century look like paintings. As a general rule, visible joints (that is, spaces between the tesserae). The dish sold at mosaics depicting a religious theme were made by the Vatican. auction a few years ago for £4,700. Ecclesiastical portraits, many of them commissioned as diplomatic

ANTIQUES INFO - November/December 07 Mosaics gifts, are a related speciality. They are not popular with collectors, and are often a hard sell at auction. It was Pius VII who travelled to France, in 1804, to crown Napoleon I . This turned out to be a fool’s errand. Napoleon crowned himself, but the pope did have the opportunity to bestow gifts, including mosaic objects on the new Mosaic toothpick box. (Bonham’s, London, June 21, 2005, lot 47, imperial family. It was perhaps on this occasion that the Empress £300/$545) Mosaics were bought Josephine acquired the mosaic panel depicting ‘St. Michael Slaying by tourists and then mounted on Lucifer,’ after a painting by . Or it may have simply been small boxes. one of the many works of art put into circulation by wartime turmoil that was picked up by the empress. This large panel (over three feet table, c1840. high, two feet wide) was made by the Vatican workshop in the (Sotheby’s, New York, May 17, eighteenth century. It reflects the wide palette, more than 28,000 2006, lot 185, £276,120/ colours, then available to craftsmen. It also shows the innovative $520,000) This sumptuous table arrangement of the tesserae. Instead of lining them up in rows, represents the very best of craftsmen were starting to arrange them at angles to achieve a more modern mosaic design. pictorial effect. This technique and the use of specially shaped tesserae, was developed at the Vatican, and later used by the private workshops. The panel sold last summer at auction for £209,600. Mosaics were popular with travellers for more than a century. There Walnut casket. (Christie’s, was some criticism of the fashion. Goethe, for one, was appalled London, January 25, 2005, lot that an ancient art that had been ‘degraded’ to ornamenting trinkets 160, £1,920$3,491) Most “Our times are worse than we think,” he said. But not every visitor mosaics were bought by foreign was so disparaging. In 1810, when Rome was under French dealers, who used them to occupation, there were twenty private workshops. In the 1830s, a embellish locally made objects. guidebook listed close to thirty, many near the Spanish Steps. They were still there, forty years later, when the neighborhood was known colloquially as the ‘English Ghetto.’ Most mosaics were portable souvenirs that could be packed in a trunk. The showpieces were the exception. A large table sold at auction last spring for £276,120. The circular mosaic top is believed to have been commissioned by an early Victorian grand tourist. It ‘St. Michael Slaying Lucifer’ depicts a medley of Roman sites and personages that would have mosaic. (Sotheby’s, London, July been familiar to an educated Englishman. There is also a portrait of 5, 2006, lot 12, £209,600/ Pope Gregory XVI, which helps to date the piece. (Gregory reigned $381,091) This large mosaic from 1831 to 1846.) The top measures 41 inches in diameter, which once belonged to the Empress View of the Colosseum. is nearly twice as big as similar models. It was made by Michel- Josephine. (Christie’s, London, February angelo Barberi, a celebrated craftsman, who was known for his 23, 2006, lot 135, £ 9,600 sightseeing tables. The top was probably mounted on its ebony and /$17,455) This view is so precise ormolu base after it was brought to England. that is possible to see the Mosaics belong to the bric-a-brac of Victorian tourism, together interior of the Colosseum. with cameos, plaster casts, and Roman shawls. But there was no need to visit Rome because most mosaics were bought wholesale by foreign dealers, who used them to embellish locally made and baubles. The selection was just as fine in Paris or London as it was in the neighborhood of the Spanish Steps. These hybrid pieces are a staple of the mosaic market. A representative example is a walnut casket that is decorated with the ubiquitous ‘Doves of Pliny.’ It was made for the Regent Street firm of Halstaff & Hannaford: the final bid, in 2005, was £1,920. It is not always clear, though, if the Pair of framed micro-mosaic mosaic was a cherished memento specially mounted for a client or plaques. (Christie’s, London, if it was part of a shipment bought on spec by a foreign dealer. Pair of mosaics attributed to September 28, 2006, lot 90, By the late nineteenth century, a range of mosaics were produced. Antonio Aguatti. (Sotheby’s, £27,600/$52,192) Another Some reflect the tradition of high craftsmanship, others poorly London, December 8, 2004, lot popular theme were Roman made. Significantly, the heroine of one Edwardian novel buys 34, £54,000/$98,182) Animals peasants in exotic costumes. were a popular theme with ‘cheap mosaic brooches’ for the family maids. Good pieces are mosaic designers. always coming on the market, which makes it easy to overlook the shoddy stuff. Collectors should be on the look out for missing tesserae, garish colours, and poor design. A cheap mount is another warning sign because a really nice mosaic would not have been inset in a second-rate box or brooch. As always, quality and condition are more important than a famous name. Further Reading: Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel et al. . (London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2000)

ANTIQUES INFO - November/December 07 Mosaics

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6 19thC Italian gold coloured 21 11 metal mounted micro mosaic brooch, view of the Coliseum, Victorian gold framed 1 1.5 x 2.375in. brooch, inset with a micro mosaic plaque, Continental Early 19thC Italian micro Auction Galleries, Kent. Jun colonnaded palace, figures in mosaic plaque, tiger with 07. HP: £1,100. ABP: £1,293. the foreground, plaque 1.75 x paw raised looking over its 1.5in. Gorringes, Lewes. Apr shoulder, ebonised frame, Micro mosaic circular plaque 19thC continental micro- 17 04. HP: £620. ABP: £729. 4.5in. Gorringes, Lewes. Oct depicting a fox killing a cock mosaic brooch, metal 06. HP: £4,000. ABP: £4,705. pheasant and another with a mount, 6.5cm wide, in case. bird and box. 19thC, enamel Hobbs Parker, Ashford. Jun 22 on copper. Thos Mawer & 05. HP: £1,950. ABP: £2,293. Son, Lincoln. Dec 06. HP: £2,700. ABP: £3,175.

2 7 12 George III silver-gilt micro- Oval micromosaic panel, St Micromosaic brooch in mosaic trinket box, engine Peters & Bernini Colonnade, pinchbeck mount, decorated turned decoration, mounted late 19thC, mounted on a birds in a tree, 6cm wide. with a Grand Tour mosaic 19thC gilt metal mounted hinged photograph frame, Hobbs Parker, Ashford. Jun view of a classical building and micro mosaic standing on an easel, with 05. HP: £520. ABP: £611. Mid Victorian pedestal table, within an oval reserve, raised paperweight, central reserve stamped retailers label C + E specimen marble mosaic top, floral border, maker John of a mosaic of the Pliny Tombini, Roma, Piazza di 32in dia, 29in high. Tring 23 Robins, London 1817, 3in. Doves, 5in. Gorringes, Spagna 74, 9.6 x 6.7cm oval, Market Auctions, Herts. Nov Gorringes, Lewes. Apr 05. Lewes. Oct 04. HP: £2,000. 11.5cm high. Sworders, 02. HP: £1,400. ABP: £1,646. HP: £3,900. ABP: £4,587. ABP: £2,352. Stansted Mountfitchet. Feb 07. HP: £900. ABP: £1,058. 3 13

8 Silver gilt pill box, London 19thC Italian micro mosaic 18 Micro mosaic plaque, study panel of Pliny’s doves, gilt 1895, with micro mosaic lid of Pliny doves, in plain gilt portraying the Roman forum, Micromosaic view of St frame 2.25in. Gorringes, metal frame, 2.25in dia. Micro-mosaic bracelet, five 4 x 3cm. Rosebery’s, London. Peter’s Basilica, Roman, Lewes. Dec 04. HP: £1,300. Gorringes, Lewes. Apr 03. oval panels depicting Italian Dec 05. HP: £500. ABP: £588. c1850, inlaid into a honey ABP: £1,529. HP: £2,000. ABP: £2,352. scenes including and coloured marble base, glazed 24 14 Rome, fancy gilt-metal links ebonised frame, 8.5cm. 9 and box clasp stamped E.L. Sotheby’s, Billingshurst. Jun Gorringes, Bexhill. Dec 05. 01. HP: £3,500. ABP: £4,116. HP: £800. ABP: £941. 4 19

Italian rectangular micro- mosaic plaque, Pliny’s doves, 19thC Grand Tour Souvenir 19thC, within copper mount, Late 18th/early 19thC Italian micromosaic plaque of the 5.2cm x 7.5cm. Gorringes, micro mosaic plaque, inlaid 19thC oval shell cameo, Roman Forum, centrally set Bexhill. Mar 05. HP: £2,000. with a study of a hen, copper carved with a study of Diana, in rectangular black marble, ABP: £2,352. back, 1.75in dia. Gorringes, French gold framed oval mounted in a floral micro 12in. Gorringes, Lewes. Lewes. Jan 04. HP: £1,200. micro mosaic brooch, doves mosaic easel frame, 3.5 x Oct 05. HP: £3,000. ABP: £1,411. drinking from a bowl. 3in. Gorringes, Lewes. Apr ABP: £3,528. Gorringes, Lewes. Jun 00. 04. HP: £480. ABP: £564. 15 HP: £740. ABP: £870.

10 19thC Roman ebonised 20 25 casket inset with 5 micro- 5 mosaic plaques, views of Rome, interior with a mirror Victorian woven hair brace- Late 19th century polished and quilted pink satin lining, let, c1840-1850, ornate 19thC Grand Tour souvenir and micro mosaic largest plaque 3.75 x 6in 19thC micro-mosaic plaque rococo clasp, incorporating micro mosaic slate - occasional table, top decor- damaged & simply restored, of a butterfly in flight, white two Italian micro mosaics, weight, view of classical ated with Pliny doves and a other plaques 2 x 5.25in and tessellated ground, gilt gesso each of a white dove to a ruins within an oval band of floral sprig, malachite border, 2 x 3in, 6in high. Gorringes, frame, plaque 3in. Gorringes, blue ground. Sworders, malachite, 4.5in. Gorringes, 2ft. Gorringes, Lewes. Oct Lewes. Feb 07. HP: £2,000. Lewes. Dec 06. HP: £1,200. Stansted Mountfitchet. Feb Lewes. Apr 05. HP: £460. 04. HP: £2,700. ABP: £3,175. ABP: £2,352. ABP: £1,411. 07. HP: £720. ABP: £846. ABP: £541. ANTIQUES INFO - November/December 07 Mosaics

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Mid 19thC Italian slate and Small gold micro mosaic micro mosaic paperweight pendant depicting a beetle. decorated with Pliny doves Gorringes, Lewes. Mar 01. Victorian gold mosaic brooch at a bowl, 5 x 3.25in. HP: £120. ABP: £141. depicting a spray of flowers Gorringes, Lewes. Sep 00. Victorian micro mosaic within a canetille borde, 4cm HP: £190. ABP: £223. Italian micro mosaic Latin 42 brooch, figure in peasant dia. Fellows & Sons, style cross, lamb at centre dress carrying a basket and Birmingham. Oct 03. HP: with grape and flower motifs, 37 water ewer, canted rectan- £320. ABP: £376. bead ends to an Etruscan gular gold frame, rope twist reverse, incorporating decoration, amethyst Christian symbols. Sworders, 32 coloured glass backing a.f. Stansted Mountfitchet. Feb Victorian gold framed micro Gorringes, Lewes. Jan 04. 07. HP: £400. ABP: £470. mosaic brooch, worked with HP: £100. ABP: £117. a floral spray on a blue 27 ground. Gorringes, Lewes. 47 Oct 04. HP: £120. ABP: £141. 19thC Italian micro mosaic panel of a pair of ducks, with three ducklings in a pond 43 scene amongst reeds, gilt 19thC Neapolitan micro frame 3in. Gorringes, Lewes. mosaic pendant, depicting Dec 04. HP: £300. ABP: £352. classical ruins, gilt metal 19thC oval micro mosaic 19thC Italian micro-mosaic oval frame with ropetwist brooch depicting classical brooch, spaniel lying on a 33 decoration. Gorringes, grassy bank, yellow coloured ruins. Reeman Dansie, Lewes. Mar 04. HP: £190. Colchester. Apr 06. HP: £55. metal mount, hairline crack ABP: £223. and pin detached, 3.5 x 19thC yellow metal set ABP: £64. 2.5cm. Charterhouse 38 micro-mosaic brooch, flight Auctioneers, Sherborne. Feb of steps & building scene. Prices quoted are actual 06. HP: £340. ABP: £399. Kent Auction Galleries, prices (HP) and Folkestone. Feb 07. HP: the Approximate Buyer’s £115. ABP: £135. Price. (ABP) Includes an average premium of 28 15% + VAT. Italian gilt brass and floral micro mosaic easel photo- 19thC micro mosaic plaque, graph frame, 9in. Gorringes, Micromosaic bouquet ring of a goddess imparting Lewes. Feb 01. HP: £290. within a floral mount, (tests wisdom, original fitted case, ABP: £341. gold), size L½. Sworders, 1.75 x 1.5in. Gorringes, 34 Stansted Mountfitchet. Nov Lewes. Oct 06. HP: £340. 05. HP: £170. ABP: £199. ABP: £399. 39 44 Arched easel photograph frame with micro mosaic decoration, 4in. Denhams, Warnham. Aug 03. HP: £110. ABP: £129. 29 Miniature Italian micro 48 Italian micro mosaic brooch, mosaic strut frame inset with depicting a building in the Micro-Mosaic lapel brooch, 45 Victorian mother o’pearl cameo, depicting Mercury, mosaic card case. Neo-classical style, centre gilt metal frame and strut, approx 25mm, portrait of obelisk and fountains, Tutankhamun, gold surround Gorringes, Lewes. Apr 02. 7cm high. Rosebery’s, HP: £40. ABP: £47. bevelled edge blue ground London. Mar 02. HP: £240. and back tested 18ct, 5.9g. plain frame. Sworders, ABP: £282. A F Brock & Co Ltd, 49 Stansted Mountfitchet. Feb Stockport. Feb 07. HP: £145. 07. HP: £340. ABP: £399. 35 ABP: £170. 30

40 Set of four Grand Tour micro Micro mosaic & nickel Pair of mid 19thC micro- mosaic , each with a crucifix mounted with an Gent’s Masonic ring, oval mosaic brooches, depicting polychrome design of ivory Christ, with the dove of tiled ‘mosaic’ stone, slight St Peter’s Square, other the Micro-mosaic oval brooch, of classical buildings mounted peace, harp, stars & flowers chips, 9ct h/m, size P or Colosseum, (a.f) 2 x 1.5in. a bouquet of flowers, 1.5 x in black jet surround. 0.5in. 8in in length. Kent Auction 7.1/2 US, 4.4g. A F Brock & Gorringes, Lewes. Apr 07. 1.25in. Gorringes, Lewes. Gorringes, Lewes. Mar 05. Galleries, Folkestone. Jul 05. Co Ltd, Stockport. Oct 06. HP: £340. ABP: £399. Dec 06. HP: £220. ABP: £258. HP: £130. ABP: £152. HP: £110. ABP: £129. HP: £15. ABP: £17. ANTIQUES INFO - November/December 07

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