Skip to main content

This auction has ended. View lot details

You may also be interested in

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

Lot 248

A 19th century Roman gilt bronze, enamelled and micromosaic box by Cesare Roccheggiani depicting the Forum

7 December 2010, 11:00 GMT
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £576 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

A 19th century Roman gilt bronze, enamelled and micromosaic box by Cesare Roccheggiani depicting the Forum

of oval form, the top inlaid with a scene of the Forum, within a beaded border, the sides enamelled with scrolling foliage, on four small bun feet, the inside of the lid with a label inscribed C. ROCCHEGGIANI , 6cm wide

Footnotes

The Vatican micromosaic workshop was originally founded in the late 16th century to provide the mosaics to decorate the basilica of Saint Peters; but continued to produce micromosaics for the open market for centuries after. By the 19th century the Vatican workshop was producing works of such quality that it had virtually monopolised the market. Roccheggiani was employed at the Vatican from 1856 to 1864, but also set up his own workshop which is recorded firstly at 125 Via Babuino and then, by 1874, at 14 & 15 Via Condotti. Here he mostly produced small decorative pieces for the tourist market, such as the present lot. However, his remarkable skill is particularly apparent in the exceptionally large works that he was commissioned to produce, such as the 102.5cm x 185.2cm panel sold at Christies, London, 29 April 2010, lot 268 for £481,000.

J. Gabriel, The Gilbert Collection Micromosaics, London, 2000, (p. 289).

Additional information

Bid now on these items

A Jacobite concealed portrait snuff box18th century

A 15th century carved limestone figure of St George

A pair of mid 16th century Italian patinated and parcel gilt bronze angel candlesticks Probably Tuscan and in the manner of Domenico Becafumi (1484-1551)

A Renaissance Florentine panel woven in silks and metal threadMid 15th century, probably for a Dalmatic garment

A 16th century tapestry fragment Formerly part of a larger tapestry in Gerona Cathedral

An extremely rare early 17th century Dutch black, red and gilt japanned casketProbably attributable to Willem Kick (Dutch, 1579-1647)

A carved limestone bust of a kingProbably late 14th/early 15th century, and later

A rare and impressive Charles II leaded bronze 'York' mortar Made for Roger Warde, apothecary, and dated 1684, together with a large associated cast iron pestle

A late 18th/early 19th century Italian relief carved and part stained wood oval profile portrait plaque depicting a classical warrior maiden, perhaps Minerva Possibly attributable to the workshop of Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo (Italian, 1745–1820)

Of Grand Tour interest: A collection of six trays of 19th century plaster intagliosProbably from the workshop of Pietro Paoletti (Rome, 1801-1847)

Francesco Righetti I (Italian, 1738-1819): A patinated bronze figure of the Apollo BelvedereAfter the antique, Roman, the cast dated 1787

After Pierre Lepautre (French, 1659-1744) and François Girardon (French, 1628-1714): A patinated bronze figural group of 'Aeneas carrying Anchises'French, probably first half early 19th century

A rare French gilt copper and champlevé enamel crozier finial depicting St Michael slaying the devil as a dragon Limoges, 1220-1230

A rare French gilt copper and champlevé enamel book or Evangeliary cover depicting the Crucifixion Limoges, circa 1190-1200

A French gilt copper and champleve enamel oval plaque of the angelLimoges, 19th century

John Gibson (British, 1791 - 1866): A carved white marble bust of Lucy Charlotte Jervis (née Baskervyle-Glegg), 3rd Viscountess Saint

Jacques-Léonard Maillet (French, 1823-1895): A patinated bronze of Agrippina carrying the ashes of Germanicus

After Louis-François Roubiliac (French, 1702-1762): A patinated bronze bust of 'The Laughing Child' Probably French, second half 18th century

A late 19th century Iberian terracotta equestrian model of a peasant Probably attributable to Antonio Peñas y León (Spanish, 1810-1871)

A pair of large 19th century French bronze figural candlesticks After designs by Corneille van Clève (French, 1645-1732), the models originally cast by Charles Le Brun (French, 1619-1690)

A pair of George III gilt and patinated bronze and white marble griffin candlesticks In the Neoclassical style after designs by Sir William Chambers (Anglo-Swedish, 1726-1796), circa 1800

A pair of 19th century French gilt bronze candlesticks In the Louis XVI style and after the 18th century models by Étienne Martincourt