MICROMOSAICS The art of minute mosaic, which can be traced to the masters of the Vatican Mosaic Studio, has been applied ever since the last quarter of the 18th century to the creation of small size jewels and precious objects. Its development, which is closely connected with the invention of a technique-enamel 'spinning'-which offers amazing possibilities of expression through colour, has gone through a number of stages, from Neo-classicism to the Romantic era to the various eclectic revivals. Hence a vast production of jewels with classical subjects, such as vedutas of ancient ruins and monuments, mythological figures and landscapes, and ornamental motifs drawn from a variety of traditions, such as scarabs inspired to Neo-Egyptian revival. Our collection includes a wide range of these pieces, which used to be designed for the cosmopolitan clientele of the Grand Tour. Click on thumbnails to enlarge