AN ITALIAN MICROMOSAIC PICTURE OF THE FORUM

Mosaics have been created on the Italian peninsula for nearly two millennia. From the end of the 16th century when this technique – a traditional form of decoration in early Christian churches – was revived in the Vatican for the adornment of St. Peter’s Basilica, Rome was once again a centre for the practice. Micromosaics are created with many hundreds (or thousands) of tesserae or smalti, small pieces of coloured glass cut from oven-baked rods and arranged to form an image. By the middle of the 18th century, technological advances permitted the realization of miniscule tesserae which, in turn, enabled artisans to create painstakingly detailed and exquisitely rendered works, hitherto unknown. Roman artisans created micromosaics representing artistic masterpieces from the antique to the contemporary, portraits and still lives, but the views of major Roman sites, such as the Piazza San Pietro or the Roman Forum were, by far, the most prized.

Immensely popular with Grand Tourists, fine micromosaics were created in numerous sizes from small plaques to be incorporated into elaborate jewellery and gold boxes, to framed panels meant to be hung in galleries amidst picture collections. Large-format panels such as the present lot were especially rare, and have been highly sought after since their creation by the masters of the Vatican workshops.