A framed Roman micro-mosaic panel of a Bacchante
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A framed Roman micro-mosaic panel of a Bacchante

ATTRIBUTED TO MICHELANGELO BARBERI, CIRCA 1855

Details
A framed Roman micro-mosaic panel of a Bacchante
Attributed to Michelangelo Barberi, Circa 1855
With vines and grapes in her hair, looking to the back; in a giltwood frame
The micro-mosaic: 11 in. (28 cm.) high; 10¼ in. (26 cm.) wide
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Michelangelo Barberi was renowned as one of the most celebrated Roman micro-mosaic artists of the first half of the 19th century. In 1817, he left Rome for Moscow where he received commissions from Princess Volkonski, later opening up a workshop under her patronage. On a subsequent return journey to Russia, he was received in St Petersburg by Czar Nicholas I who later asked him to help set up and advise a school of micro-mosaic artists based on that in the Vatican. In 1851, he participated in the London Great Exhibition where he received first prize for a mosaic panel entitled Il Bel Cielo, a second example of a composition he had already executed for the Tsar.

Circa 1850, Barberi executed a mosaic table top for a Mr Neeld, London. This circular top incorporates at its central panel a head of Bacchus very similar to the present example.

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