BY GIACOMO RAFFAELLI (FL. 1753-1836), ROME, 1794, SIGNED ON THE REVERSE 'GIACOMO RAFFAELLI FEIE, ROME 1794'

One of the most celebrated artists in the fields of mosaics and hardstones and credited with the actual invention of micromosaics, Giacomo Raffaelli (1753-1836) was extensively patronised by Pope Pius XV (d. 1799), and worked in both the Vatican workshops as well as from his own studio in the Piazza di Spagna. Raffaelli often depicted animals in his work and these mosaics were usually small in size.