A GERMAN VARI-COLOR GOLD MICROMOSAIC BONBONNIERE

Giacomo Raffaelli is often credited with the invention of micromosaics, exhibiting the technique for the first time in 1775 in Rome. The depiction of birds in mosaic was often found in Florentine pietre dure plaques, table tops and cabinets, typically on a dark background. Raffaelli reproduced the popular motif in various, dynamic forms, including the present example. A snuff box and cover, inscribed by Raffaelli, was sold at Christie's, Amsterdam, on 13 December 2011. Another near identical example is illustrated in Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel, Micromosaics Private Collections, 2016, fig. 125.