A pair of Italian micromosaics by Giacomo Raffaelli (1753-1836), Roman, last quarter 18th century

each of square form, one depicting a chaffinch on a branch protecting an egg filled nest from a mouse, the other with a goldfinch on a branch and a serpent below within a rosso antico border, both with Hamilton Palace label and one with inscribed label Etude de Mosaique de Jacques Raffaelli/Place d'Espagne à côté de la rue Bastianel', and with a partially illegible ink inscribed paper label `I. H. Greenway ....Nov 1900', the giltwood frames carved with berried laurel leaves 

Sold from the Hamilton Palace sale, The Property of the Duke of Hamilton K.T., Messrs. Christie, Manson & Woods, 17th and 19th June 1882, lot 1423, see figs. 1 & 2.

These exceptional micromosaic panels are in good original condition, with the mosaic area showing no apparent repairs or losses. The rosso antico border with minor repairs and the giltwood frames with old repairs and minor losses.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Comparative Literature:
Alvar González-Palacios, Fasto Romano, dipinti, sculture, arredi dai Palazzi di Roma, Rome, 1991, Tav. LXXVIII, cat. 204.
Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel, The Gilbert Collection, Micromosaics, London, 2000, pp. 288-289.
Ian Gow, “Treasures of the Country Life Library”, Country Life, September 25, 1997.
The Hamilton Palace Sale, in The Illustrated London News, No. 2254, Vol. LXXXI, Sunday, July 15, 1882, p. 66.
E.M. Efimova, West European Mosaic of the 13th-19th centuries in the collection of the Hermitage, Leningrad, 1968, plate 51 and p. 100. 

This exquisite pair of micromosaics by the outstanding Roman mosaicist Giacomo Raffaelli (1753-1836), one depicting a chaffinch with a mouse, the other a goldfinch with a serpent are rare not only for their subject matter and the superlative quality of their execution but also their impeccable Hamilton Palace provenance.

The other recorded examples of an almost identical plaque depicting the chaffinch with a mouse is in the Hermitage Museum, St, Petersburg, reproduced here in fig. 3. In the article on Raffaelli by Massimo Alfieri, see Gabriel, op. cit., p. 271, he states whilst discussing the maker's works in the Hermitage,`The second work is a small, delicate picture of a bird defending its nest from a mouse,' on the back a label states,`Etude de mosaique de Jacques Raffaelli, Place d'Espagne  à coté de la rue Bastianel'. The label is exactly the same as the one on the reverse of the offered plaque, reproduced above.  

Another very similar plaque depicting the bird with a serpent by Raffaelli is illustrated by A.G. P. op. cit., Tav. LXXVIII, cat. no. 204, p. 230. The author states that amongst the papers of Raffaelli in the Biblioteca Nazionale di Roma, is a note referring to items inherited by his descendants after his death, amongst which are, `due quadrucci  di circa un Palmo rappresentanti uno un Cardello con serpe ed altro una fringuella con sorci'  ..' (two small pictures .. representing a goldfinch with a serpent and the other  a chaffinch with a mouse).

The history of micromosaics:
Micromosaics are made from literally thousands of tiny coloured enamel rods, painstakingly assembled and secured with a slow drying adhesive. The best micromosaics can contain over 5,000 of these tesserae per square inch. The final stages of the process involves waxing (to fill any gaps) and polishing to create the seamless surface characteristic of the art.

The colour range of mosaics would have been fairly limited, as the material was translucent glass paste. So materials were developed, such as oil based mastics, until circa 1730 when the Vatican studio perfected opaque enamel and boasted it had over 15.000 colours and tints at the disposal of their artists. This new material also permitted mosaics to be thinner and flatter, allowing the artist to introduce more subtlety in execution: 'Painting became the ideal toward which mosaics aspired, but that aspiration would not have been possible without the thousands of different coloured tesserae, which permitted an exact imitation of the tonal range found in painting', (F. Difederico, op.cit., p. 33). Mosaics did not only have an extraordinary lasting freshness of colour, but they also served a purpose of being able to survive fires, a worry during the 17th and 18th century. By 1770, most of the basilica's altarpieces by artists such as Raphael (1483-1520) and Guido Reni (1575-1642) had been successfully copied in mosaic.

During the last quarter of the eighteenth century the materials used for mosaics were dramatically refined. This enabled mosaic makers to execute much smaller works, leading to the emergence of micromosaics. Most of these were bought by tourists visiting Rome and often executed by poorly paid Vatican mosaicists who established their own workshops. The earliest micromosaics had visible joints between the tiny tesserae and were limited in colours. Nevertheless they were highly sought after and admired, as proves the inclusion of micromosaics in a cabinet from Hamilton Palace, Lanarkshire, Scotland made for William Beckford (1760- 1844). Soon though the technique was fine-tuned and advanced so the tesserae could imitate the effect of brushstrokes and simulate textures such as animal hair, foliage and feathers. By 1810 over twenty highly successful workshops were active in Rome, mostly clustered around the Spanish Steps.

Hamilton Palace:
For centuries the seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, Hamilton Palace was built by the Palladian architect James Smith in 1695, on the site of a much older edifice. At the centre of the family’s vast estate near Glasgow, it was enlarged in 1717 and again in the 1820s. In the mid-nineteenth century the tenth Duke embarked on a general redecoration of the interiors, obliterating most of its original features, including the monumental chimneypieces and frescoes. The Lanarkshire coalfields that brought the Hamiltons enormous wealth enabled them to amass a fabled art collection, considerably increased by the tenth Duke’s marriage to Susan, daughter of William Beckford, of Fonthill Abbey fame. Towards the end of that century the family’s fortunes declined, and after years of neglect the house was finally demolished in 1922.

The Hamilton Palace Collection:
The bulk of the Hamilton Palace collection was sold by the twelfth Duke in 1882 in what became a legendary sale, with more than two thousand lots being auctioned at Christie’s over two months. It included works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Velazquez and Poussin amongst others, as well as furniture made for the French Royal Family, porcelain, mosaics and other objects d’art.  

Giacomo Raffaelli (b. Rome 1753-1836):
He studied painting and sculpture from a young age and is believed to originate from a family who provided smalti at the Vatican Mosaic Workshop. According to Gabriel, op. cit., p. 288, `He became one of the most celebrated artists in the fields of mosaic and hardstones, credited with the invention of micromosaics'. He is known to have staged the first recorded exhibition of this type of work in his studio in Rome in 1775. Furthermore, he supplied foreign buyers at an early stage in his career. Alvar González-Palacios states that his studio was at via S. Sebastianello and on 5th October 1787, he was awarded the title, Councillor of Liberal Arts by Stanislaus II Augustus, King of Poland (r. 1764-95). He moved to Milan in 1804 to direct a mosaics workshop which had been founded the previous year on Napoleon's orders by Eugene Beauharnais. Raffaelli returned to Rome from Milan between 1817 and 1820. He died in 1836, at his home at 92 via Babuino in a house designed by Valadier.