Parure
(c. 1830)
Medium
glass, (micro-mosaic), gold, leather, fabric, (other materials)
Measurements
(a-k) 6.5 × 27.2 × 20.9 cm (overall)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1977
© Public Domain
Gallery location
18th & 19th Century Decorative Arts & Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
About this work
Matching suites of jewellery such as this one are known as parures. This virtuosic micro-mosaic parure comprises twenty-eight oval panels decorated with genre scenes or figures from the commedia dell’arte, a humorous form of Italian theatre that originated in the sixteenth century featuring masked figures. Roman mosaic jewellery was highly fashionable during the nineteenth century, often brought home as a finely crafted souvenir by British aristocrats returning from the Grand Tour.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
Rome, Italy
Accession Number
D148.a-k-1977
Department
International Decorative Arts
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Dame Carol Colburn-Grigor CBE through Metal Manufactures Limited