Victorian Grand Tour Micro Mosaic Brooch In 18k Gold, Doves Of Pliny, Antique Micro-mosaic

Victorian micro mosaic brooch in 18-karat gold micro-mosaic. Grand Tour brooch in micro-mosaic depicting doves drinking from a bowl filled with water, or "Pliny's Doves," on a black glass background imitating onyx. Antique brooch, circa 1860.

Height: 3.5 cm - Width: 4 cm - Thickness: 0.5 cm

Condition: Fine scratches from use

Weight: 15.46 gr

This dove motif is inspired by a Roman mosaic discovered in 1737 in Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, now housed in the Capitoline Museum. This work is itself a reproduction of a famous Greek mosaic attributed to Sosos of Pergamum, mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History. Popular with 19th-century mosaicists, this subject, with its Greek and Roman roots, is known as the "Capitoline Doves" or "Pliny's Doves."Victorian micro mosaic brooch in 18-karat gold micro-mosaic. Grand Tour brooch in micro-mosaic depicting doves drinking from a bowl filled with water, or "Pliny's Doves," on a black glass background imitating onyx. Antique brooch, circa 1860.

Height: 3.5 cm - Width: 4 cm - Thickness: 0.5 cm

Condition: Fine scratches from use

Weight: 15.46 gr

This dove motif is inspired by a Roman mosaic discovered in 1737 in Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli, now housed in the Capitoline Museum. This work is itself a reproduction of a famous Greek mosaic attributed to Sosos of Pergamum, mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History. Popular with 19th-century mosaicists, this subject, with its Greek and Roman roots, is known as the "Capitoline Doves" or "Pliny's Doves."