19th-Century Italian Micro Mosaic Brooch

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You know how you love to shop for a souvenir when you travel. This little micro mosaic brooch—about the width … Read more You know how you love to shop for a souvenir when you travel. This little micro mosaic brooch—about the width of your press-in wine bottle stopper—would have been just the thing for a Victorian abroad in Rome or Florence. Are you picturing “Room with a View”?
Quite a lot of labor would have gone into it. Tiny pieces of colored glass or enamel, known as tesserae, were meticulously cut or pulled into fine strands. But before that, gold leaf was likely fused between layers of glass adding the shimmer before being cut into minute bits. These tesserae are arranged by hand to form this piece’s background for the pretty boy’s enamel portrait. The assembled mosaic and portrait were carefully polished to create a smooth finish while keeping the individual tesserae visible.
Separately, this ornate silver frame with a leaf motif was likely created through casting, that is by pouring molten metal into a mold. Or it might have been stamped out of a metal sheet. The metal would have been finished, polished, and potentially treated to achieve its current appearance.
At last, the finished mosaic component would be securely fitted and fastened into the completed metal frame held in place by a base material, usually a type of cement or mastic, to form the final brooch. Perhaps the Victorians were on to something. After all, this is so much nicer than returning home with another T-shirt, no? See less