{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O156489"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O156489/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2008BW4201/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2008BW4201/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2008BW4201","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BV4165","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BV4164","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BV4163","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BV4125","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BV4124","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2008BV4123","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London/ © the Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London ","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2018KR9576","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O156489/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O156489","accessionNumber":"LOAN:GILBERT.431-2008","objectType":"Snuffbox","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"The term 'micromosaic' is used to describe mosaics made of the smallest glass pieces. Some micromosaics contain more than 5000 pieces per square inch. The earliest attempts at micromosaic revealed visible joins between the pieces (known as tesserae) and a lack of perspective. Later artists made huge advances in micromosaic technique, resulting in renderings that were truer to life. Glass micromosaic technique developed in the 18th century, in the Vatican Mosaic Workshop in Rome, where they still undertake restoration work today. \n\nThis is a fairly early example of a micromosaic with a still quite limited range of colours and shapes of tesserae. The imagery is inspired by ancient Roman art: bears, dogs and deer were all popular subjects on Roman floor mosaics and wall paintings. The base panel shows a chariot with a stag and hind just released from the harness, possibly an allusion to the chariot of the goddess Diana.\r\n\r\nSir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes.  Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.","physicalDescription":"A rectangular, gold-mounted micromosaic snuffbox with canted corners, the cover with a mosaic depicting a polar bear and a hound playing with an apple under a tree, the base with a mosaic of a stag and a hind and a chariot.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"gold","id":"AAT11021"},{"text":"mosaic glass","id":"AAT260731"}],"techniques":[{"text":"chasing","id":"AAT54016"},{"text":"micromosaic","id":"x42499"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Chased gold, glass micromosaic","categories":[{"text":"Personal accessories","id":"THES48912"},{"text":"Containers","id":"THES48972"},{"text":"Mosaic","id":"THES253095"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"MET","id":"THES48599"},"images":["2008BW4201","2008BV4165","2008BV4164","2008BV4163","2008BV4125","2008BV4124","2008BV4123","2018KR9576"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"023","id":"THES410167"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"snuffbox","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Rome (city)","id":"x29106"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"probably"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1800","earliest":"1795-01-01","latest":"1804-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Length","value":"8.7","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"5.3","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Height","value":"2.4","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Provenance: Martin Foster sale, Christie's London, 5 July 1977, lot 211.\n","historicalContext":"The bear and hound may be copied from a painting by Vallati, a specialist animal painter whose work was regularly used as sources for micromosaics. A mosaic entitled <i>Deer Hunt</i>, given to President Eisenhower (in office 1953-61) by Italy's President Gronchi (1887-1978) was apparently based on a painting by Vallati.","briefDescription":"Snuffbox with polar bear and hound.  Gold, micromosaic.  Probably Rome, ca.1800","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Habsburg-Lothringen, Géza von. <u>Gold boxes from the collection of Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert</u>.  R. & A. Gilbert, 1983. 125 p., ill. Cat no.5, p. 25-6.  ISBN.0961039809."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Truman, Charles.<u>The Gilbert collection of gold boxes</u>, Vol. I. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1991, cat. no. 145, pp. 416-17.  ISBN.0875871623"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Gabriel, Jeanette Hanisee with contributions by Anna Maria Massinelli and essays by Judy Rudoe and Massimo Alfieri. <u>Micromosaics: The Gilbert Collection</u>. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. in association with The Gilbert Collection, 2000. 310 p., ill. Cat. no. 113, p. 182. ISBN 0856675113."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Zech, Heike. <u>Gold Boxes. Masterpieces from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection.</u> London: V&A Publishing, 2015, pp. 136-137, no. 50. ISBN 987-1-85177-840-9"},{"reference":{"text":"Schroder, Timothy. <i>Gold boxes : from the Gilbert collection : an exhibition</i>, Los Angeles : Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1986","id":"AUTH354598"},"details":"18 or 27","free":""}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"bear","id":"x42801"},{"text":"hound","id":"x36479"},{"text":"deer","id":"x29392"},{"text":"chariot","id":"AAT219531"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"8. Snuffbox with bear and hound\r\nAbout 1800\r\n\r\nProbably Rome, Italy\r\nGold and glass micromosaic\r\nMuseum no. Loan:Gilbert.431-2008","date":{"text":"16/11/2016","earliest":"2016-11-16","latest":"2016-11-16"}},{"text":"Snuffbox with polar bear and hound\r\nAbout 1800\r\n\r\nProbably Rome, Italy\r\nGold and glass micromosaic\r\nMuseum no. Loan:Gilbert.431-2008","date":{"text":"2009","earliest":"2009-01-01","latest":"2009-12-31"}}],"partNumbers":["LOAN:GILBERT.431-2008"],"accessionNumberNum":"431","accessionNumberPrefix":"LOAN:GILBERT","accessionYear":2008,"otherNumbers":[{"type":{"text":"Arthur Gilbert Number","id":"THES50383"},"number":"GB 82"},{"type":{"text":"The Gilbert Collection, Somerset House","id":"THES50384"},"number":"1996.434"}],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2018LC1374","2019LR1736","2019LT7245","2019LW6004"],"recordModificationDate":"2026-05-01","recordCreationDate":"2008-06-19","availableToBook":false}}