Important Georgian Micromosaic Gold Vermeil English Snuffbox, circa 1824.
This vermeil snuffbox was executed in Birmingham in 1824. The micromosaic appears stylistically to have been executed 5 to 10 years earlier almost certainly in Rome. The box measures 3-2/16th inches wide by 2-1/6 inches deep by 1 1/16th inches in elevation. It weighs 200.4 grams, approximately 6.44 troy ounces. The outside of this box, and surrounding the micromosaic is ornate with Rococo type hand carving and finished in a tool wrought complex engine turned design. All four corners are finished with a high polish. The inside of the box also has a high polish. Beginning with the inside of the lid are the English hallmarks - the profile of King George IV indicating that the tax on silver was paid, the maker's initials TN for Thomas Newby and the lion rampant for sterling silver, 925. On the inside of the bottom of the box is the anchor for the city of Birmingham, the maker's initials TN and then the letter A for the date mark. TN is for Thomas Newby who was a well respective silversmith in Birmingham at the beginning of the 19th century.
Indicated above was the assertion that the micromosaic was done earlier than the box and by deduction this box was created just for this micromosaic with both efforts done by 1824.
The Eighteenth Century in the Arts involved the more ponderous, formal and dramatically lit style of the Baroque yielding ultimately to the less formal, less dramatic and softer, more pastel colors and more personal introspection of the Rococo. This micromosaic is more Rococo because of its small scale, softer colored and certainly a less formal orientation. Yet this is what one would expect from an object created in this time period in a cosmopolitan area like Rome where Rococo would have been more current. Conversely, the repousse vermeil, the engine turned design that also manipulates light, elsewhere on the box, all point to perhaps a last grasp of Baroque done in the comparatively parochial city of Birmingham in 1824.
This box is an artistic tour de force, executed at least by the "school of" and very likely by the early master micromosaicist Giacomo Raffaelli, himself.
In her seminal volume, Micromosaics, the Gilbert Collection, Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel, p. 32 identifies the four traits highly consistent with the work of Giacomo Raffaelli who is considered by many to be the founding father of portable micromosaics: 1. one color per tesserum, 2. oblong or square tesserae, 3. the presence of parallel horizontal rows of square tesserae, 4. a single row of millefori as a decorative outermost border. Finally, another characteristic of Raffaelli's work are scenes showing movement and naturalism, and he especially favored birds.
As for the artistry of the scene presented we have a moment in the life of five creatures and numerous plants, flora and fauna. A cursory glance from a casual eye would tend to suggest that there is no planned or purposeful composition here. But please look again more slowly and logically. Notice we have three different views of the chicks. Leading the family is the adult duck in the foreground. He is more colorful and therefore the male. Following is the female duck with the muted brown colors. Clearly both parents are splitting the guardianship. Also, the artist has excelled in showing the viewer a three dimensional quality in this charming scene. Notice that all five ducks possess on their curved or chubby surfaces -for adults this would be their necks, for the chicks it would be their outward plump and growing tiny wings- white tesserae which contrasts with the muted shades which alludes to depth and volume. Please notice the movement in this scene of parental ducks leading their chicks largely against the current, we see the tiny white ripple of water buffeting the male's chest as it speeds leftward, and the different positions of both the duck's webbed feet as they paddle to propel themselves through the water.
On the left is a blooming cat-tail plant with a fully developed cat-tail presented in a pale tan color. That, coupled with the young chicks, lets the viewer know this is springtime. This idea is also suggested by the bloom of the white flower which is not yet matched by any bloom on the two stemmed flower.
As for the mosaic itself, Raffaeli's subtle message for the onlooker is simple, "today like any other day may be filled with progress and possibly illuminate our time, but this early morning naturalistic scene is much more pleasant and peaceful to contemplate than the thoughts of a hectic stressful day".
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