Lot 40
40
AN ITALIAN SILVER-GILT MOUNTED HARDSTONE SNUFF-BOX SET WITH A MICROMOSAIC PLAQUE
THE PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN PRIVATE COLLECTOR (LOTS 40 AND 41)
AN ITALIAN SILVER-GILT MOUNTED HARDSTONE SNUFF-BOX SET WITH A MICROMOSAIC PLAQUE

ROME, CIRCA 1800

Details
AN ITALIAN SILVER-GILT MOUNTED HARDSTONE SNUFF-BOX SET WITH A MICROMOSAIC PLAQUE
ROME, CIRCA 1800
rectangular silver-gilt mounted box of green porphyry, the cover set with a micromosaic plaque depicting the harbour at Livorno, with figures in the foreground, a sailing ship, a castle and wooded cliffs beyond, in a chased gilt frame, raised shell thumbpiece
3 3/8 in. (85 mm.) wide
Literature
J. Hanisee Gabriel, Micromosaics. Private Collections, Brian McCarthy, 2016, p. 171, no. 132.

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Lot Essay


Green porphyry comes from quarries in Southern Laconia in Greece. It was extensively used in the Greek and Roman worlds for architectural veneers and decorative panels. A large number of pieces have been found in medieval ecclesiastical and urban sites in North and Western Europe. Livorno is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany and is the capital of the Province of Livorno.

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