Record

Cloak pin, with micromosaic head

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probably made in Italy

Postcard of Cloak pin, with micromosaic head.
000-180-000-093-C
© National Museums Scotland

Cloak pin, with micromosaic head

This cloak pin with micromosaic head was probably made in Italy in the mid 19th century.

Gold cloak pin with oval mosaic head: probably Italian, mid 19th century

Micromosaics are built up of hundreds or thousands of minute tessarae - cubes or chips - of coloured glass. They were developed by mosaicists employed by the Vatican Mosaic Workshop who began to fear for their jobs as orders for large-scale mosaics began to dry up in the 1750s. The credit for their invention is generally given to Giacomo Raffaelli (1753-1836), an employee of the Vatican Workshop. He exhibited his work in his private studio in the Piazza di Spagna in 1775. A later guidebook reveals that there were at least twenty mosaic workshops in the vicinity of the Piazza around 1873-4, all frequented by tourists.


Record details

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Online ID: 000-180-000-093-C
Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
Project: 0504: National Museums Scotland Part 2
Project description | View all records in project
Ref: National Museums Scotland  A.1965.890
Date: Mid 19th century
Material: Gold
Dimensions:
What: Pin, cloak
Subject: Jewellery : Costume accessories
Who:
Where: Italy
Event:
Description:
References:
  • Evans, G. Souvenirs From Roman Times to the Present Day. Edinburgh: NMS Publishing Ltd, 1999, p 26. 
Translations:
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