April 16, 2024
RARE ANTIQUE 18 -19C MICROMOSAIC DOVES of PLINY BOX
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ANTIQUE 18 - 19C ? MICROMOSAIC DOVES of PLINY RARE BOX Fresh From a Fabulous South Florida Estate! No Reserve, Ever! 18-19 C? MICROMOSAIC BOX-DOVES OF PLINY-RARE. Lovely detailed late 18th or early 19th C wood and micromosaic box, likely Italian. The shape and size suggests that this type of box is known as a bonbonnière and would have contained sweetmeats (candies) to freshen the breath. Cover of the circular box is decorated with a micromosaic panel of 4 doves perched and drinking from a gold handled bowl. Image known as the Doves of Pliny - mosaic from the 2nd century that was arguably the single most important motif for 18th- and 19th-century mosaicists. Original excavated at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, in the 1730s, and acquired for the Capitoline Museum in the 1760s. It was at first believed to be the same mosaic that was described by the Roman philosopher Pliny. The realization that the mosaic was made after Pliny's death, did not in the least diminish its status as a grand tour icon. Its popularity with mosaic collectors makes it easy to trace the progress to a more painterly and naturalistic style. Versions made in the late 18th century look like mosaics while those made in the mid 19th century look like painting. The detail and superb quality of this work is exquisite, certainly as fine as mosaics found in the renowned
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