Italian, Rome

The variety of Grand Tour souvenir objects, which were often decorated with views of Italy’s ancient ruins and distinctive buildings, increased in the 19th century. Large and elaborate micro-mosaics appeared on furniture, snuff-boxes, and plaques, while smaller ones, such as this group, could be inserted by a jeweler in gold settings to create brooches, buttons, bracelets, or necklaces. The mosaic workshop of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome trained generations of skilled Italian craftsmen in the construction of these tiny vignettes.