A Rare & Large Micromosaic Panel of The Doves of Pliny

Object Description

A Rare & Large Micromosaic Panel of
The Doves of Pliny

By Evandro Monticelli
Of the Vatican Workshop

The large oval panel set with hundreds of miniscule tesserae of coloured glass, faithfully reproducing the famous design of the Doves of Pliny with remarkable detail including the doves’ reflection in the water, the shimmer of the bowl and the plumage. The panel housed in its carved ebony frame. The original S. Pietro in Vaticano label is affixed to the rear, with the artist’s surname partially legible “Montic[…].”
Italian, circa 1890

Object Literature

This image, known as the Capitoline Doves, or Doves of Pliny, draws its inspiration from a Roman floor mosaic discovered in 1737 at Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, which in turn is believed to be a copy of a lost ancient Greek mosaic, once situated at Pergamon.

The original is described by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, completed in 77AD.

Glass micromosaic techniques were developed in the 18th century, in the Vatican Mosaic Workshop in Rome, where this panel was made by one of their principal artists, Evandro Monticelli.

Object Condition

Excellent condition

Object Details