Mosaics of genre subjects are a small specialised field of the art of Roman mosaics. They are usually found in miniature format, often intended to make up decorative jewellery. Larger picture mosaics of genre figures set against landscapes, such as the present, are rare. Unlike the miniature jewellery mosaics, which usually display one figure in traditional costume, the larger panels can show several figures set in a narrative context. These were principally based on the engravings of Bartolomeo Pinelli, which were translated into mosaic with great difficulty and skill. The human figures with their elaborate costumes demanded soft and minute contours, features, however, which the artist of the present example has executed with consummate talent. The contours of human figures, animals, architecture and landscape have been skillfully differentiated and further enlivened with a subtle gamut of colours.
A similar, but larger, mosaic of Roman peasants by Gioacchino Barberi (1783-1857) is in the Gilbert Collection (op. cit.).