Circular Box Or Snuffbox In Pressed Burl "environs De Rome", Early 19th Grand Tour

Circular pressed burl box depicting an animated landscape, consisting of ancient ruins and a grouping of figures.

This is an architectural capriccio, mixing in the same perspective different vestiges, some identifiable, others disappeared or fanciful, assembled in a figurative space which ignores reality, in favor of a form of antiquarian accumulation, in the spirit of the Grand Tour.

Standing out are statues in the round, a colonnade reminiscent of the remains of the Roman Forum or the Forum of Trajan/Augustus (perhaps the surviving portico of the Temple of Mars the Avenger), a monumental basin on a pedestal, on the far left what could be the Column of Phocas and a fountain with a seated female figure (a possible reference to the statue parleri); finally, in the background, arches reminiscent of Roman aqueducts and, above all, the only monument identifiable with certainty, the Pyramid of Cestius, a unique monument still visible today in the Ostiense district.

This small object is emblematic of the artisanal productions of the period and of the elites' fascination with Italy and Antiquity, and is a testament to this "tourism," a significant phenomenon that affected European elites from the second half of the 18th century onwards.Remarkably preserved, except for minor interior flaws.An exceptional patina and a rare mahogany color for this type of production.Diameter: 8 cm