Micromosaic (Micromosaico)

The micromosaic is one of the most laborious jewellery techniques in existence. It arose in the late eighteenth century in the Vatican mosaic workshop as a reduced variant of the monumental mosaics of St Peter's and quickly became a prestigious jewellery and souvenir speciality for the wealthy elite travelling on the Grand Tour. In mourning and sentimental jewellery, micromosaic is found above all as the high-grade version of the classic sentimental mourning pendant - a technically outstanding alternative to miniature painting (see Miniature Painting on Ivory) with an aesthetic effect of its own.

Technical fundamentals

Micromosaic is produced in a multi-stage process.

Producing the tesserae. Long thin rods (smalti filati, “drawn glass”) are drawn from molten coloured glass - typically 2–10 mm thick. The rods are then cut into short pieces with cutting pliers. On especially fine pieces the tesserae measure only 0.3–0.5 mm. The Vatican mosaic workshop had several tens of thousands of different colours at its disposal - every nuance required for naturalistic rendering was manufactured specially.

The mortar ground. A black mortar of lime and marble powder is applied to a small stone or copper plate - typically 1–2 mm thick. The mortar remains workable for several hours.

Setting the tesserae. The individual tesserae are placed one by one into the still-soft mortar ground with fine tweezers. The arrangement follows a sketch drawn in advance or an original picture that the mosaicist keeps in view. An experienced artist sets around 200–500 tesserae per hour - for a piece measuring 3 × 4 cm with 1,000 tesserae per cm², that means 24–60 hours for the setting work alone.

Drying and polishing. Once complete, the mortar ground dries for several days. The surface of the mosaic is then ground and polished - the individual tesserae are brought flush into one plane and the piece acquires its characteristic smooth, almost enamel-like sheen.

Mounting. The finished micromosaic is set into a gold mount (see Gold in Mourning Jewellery) - as a brooch, pendant, ring bezel or earring. On high-quality pieces the mount is enhanced with a filigree border or small pearl accents.

History

Origins (1770s–1780s). The Vatican mosaic workshop (Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro) was founded in the sixteenth century for the wall mosaics of St Peter's. In the late eighteenth century its mosaicists experimented with reduced tesserae and discovered the possibility of producing naturalistic miniatures able to compete optically with miniature painting. Significant pioneers: Giacomo Raffaelli, Cesare Aguatti, Domenico Moglia.

The Grand Tour souvenir market (1780–1830). With the rise of neoclassical tourism to Italy among the English, German and French aristocracy, a substantial market for micromosaic souvenirs emerged. Travellers bought small micromosaic pieces with classical ruin motifs (the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Forum Romanum), with animal images (above all spaniels and doves) or with antique-style vases. Some of these souvenirs were worn on the spot, others were integrated into gold mounts as pendants after the return home.

Sentimental mourning use (1790–1850). Alongside the souvenir market, micromosaic pieces with specific mourning motifs appeared. The typical sentimental mourning scene (see Sentimental Jewellery) - weeping willow, urn, gravestone, female mourning figure, dog - was executed in micromosaic technique and integrated into pendants or brooches. Such pieces were the high-grade alternative to miniature painting and were made above all for grieving ladies of the upper classes.

The Victorian high point (1840–1880). With the heyday of Victorian mourning jewellery (see The Victorian Era (1837–1901)), micromosaic reached its widest circulation. Workshops in Rome and Venice supplied it in large numbers; individual French and English artists learned the technique and founded workshops of their own.

Decline (from 1880). With the advent of photography as a cheaper carrier of images, and with the general decline of ritualised mourning fashion after the First World War, micromosaic lost its importance. The Vatican mosaic workshop continued production, but chiefly for liturgical purposes and for state gifts. In the jewellery market the technique became a niche.

Today. A few specialised workshops in Rome and Venice maintain the tradition. In modern memorial jewellery, micromosaic is occasionally used for very high-priced bespoke pieces - for instance a micromosaic portrait of a deceased person worked from a photograph.

Mourning motifs in micromosaic

The typical mourning motifs follow the sentimental iconography of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

The weeping-willow scene. The most common mourning composition (see Weeping Willow). A weeping willow in the middle ground, an urn or a gravestone, a female mourning figure in classical dress, occasionally a dog as a symbol of fidelity. The composition was made in several standard variants, individualised only by the initials on the gravestone.

Antique and classical ruins. A Roman ruin (the Colosseum, the Pantheon, fragments of temples) in the foreground, a sentimental landscape behind. These motifs combine mourning with an educated reference and were particularly popular with aristocratic collectors.

Vases and urns. Neoclassical mourning urns with painted inscriptions, often on an antique-style plinth or surrounded by garlands of flowers.

Doves. Doves - symbols of peace and of the soul - as the central motif of a micromosaic pendant. Often a dove with an olive branch, or two doves in a mourning composition.

Dogs. Above all spaniels and poodles as symbols of fidelity. Micromosaic pendants bearing the portrait of a deceased family dog are documented from the 1820s onwards - forerunners of the modern pet memorial jewellery segment.

Inscriptions. “Ricordo”, “In Memoriam”, “Sacred to the Memory”, or initials with a date of death as the central micromosaic composition. The lettering is set from tiny tesserae in a contrasting colour against the black mortar ground.

Micromosaic compared with other techniques

Micromosaic differs from related jewellery techniques in several respects.

Against miniature painting (see Miniature Painting on Ivory): micromosaic is considerably more durable - glass tesserae do not fade, mortar does not discolour. The colours remain stable for centuries. Miniature paintings, by contrast, fade over time and are very sensitive to UV light and moisture.

Against enamel painting: micromosaic allows more detailed naturalistic depiction with finer gradations of colour, but is technically more demanding and more expensive.

Against micro-niello (see Niello (Black Inlay Technique)): micromosaic is polychrome, whereas niello is a high-contrast black and white. Both techniques competed in the mourning-jewellery segment, but served different aesthetic preferences.

Workshops and artists

Significant micromosaic workshops:

• Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro (Vatican, Rome) - the parent workshop of the technique, primarily liturgical, with a sideline in jewellery
• Giacomo Raffaelli (Rome, 1753–1836) - the most important pioneer; established the jewellery application
• Cesare Aguatti (Rome, 1763–1846) - known for especially fine tesserae
• Domenico Moglia (Rome, early 19th century) - specialised in mourning and sentimental motifs
• Antonio Aguatti (Rome) - son of Cesare, who continued the family workshop
• Caetano and Pietro Beretta (Venice) - the Venetian jewellery branch

At auction, signed pieces (often with a small tessera signature or an engraved workshop initial on the reverse) fetch considerably higher prices than anonymous workshop pieces.

Authentication and the collectors' market

Genuine micromosaics are today a distinct auction category. Important features for authentication:

• Tesserae size: below 0.5 mm on very fine pieces - modern imitations mostly use coarser 1–2 mm tesserae
• Number of shades: high-quality Vatican pieces have hundreds of different colour nuances; simple imitations only a few
• Mortar ground: authentically a black marble-powder mortar; modern imitations sometimes use an epoxy-resin ground
• Quality of polish: authentic pieces have a very smooth, almost enamel-like surface; imitations are often rougher
• Gold mount: authentic pieces are set in 18-carat gold or higher

Prices in the current auction market:

• A simple micromosaic pendant (ruin motif, 19th century): 800–3,000 €
• A micromosaic brooch with a weeping-willow scene: 1,500–8,000 €
• High-quality Roman mosaic jewellery from a signed workshop: 5,000–30,000 €
• Vatican workshop pieces with an original mark: from 15,000 €, six figures for exceptional pieces

Micromosaic in the modern memorial market

In the current market, micromosaic serves three functions.

Antique collectors' objects. Historical mourning micromosaics of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are sought-after collectors' pieces; they are occasionally integrated into modern memorial mounts.

Modern micromosaic portraits. An extremely high-priced commission: a micromosaic portrait is made from a photograph of the deceased - typically 3–5 cm in size, in a gold mount. Production time: 3–6 months. Price: 8,000–40,000 €.

Historicising mourning pendants. A few workshops in Rome make modern micromosaic pieces with neoclassical mourning motifs after historical models. These pieces are more expensive than antiques, but offer the possibility of individual personalisation. Prices: 4,000–15,000 €.

Micromosaic is today one of the most exclusive jewellery techniques in existence. For the bereaved with the highest demands on craftsmanship and historical depth - and the financial scope to match - it offers a form of memorial jewellery distinguished by great longevity, iconographic depth and unique technical elaboration.