Dreweatts & Bloomsbury (Dreweatts)
Lot 119
A gold mounted Steinkabinett circular bonbonniere set with a micromosaic plaque A gold mounted Steinkabinett circular bonbonniere set with a micromosaic plaque, unmarked, by Johann Christian Neuber, Dresden, the micromosaic, workshop of Giacomo Raffaelli, Rome, circa 1790, set à jour with fifty seven specimens of Saxon hardstones, each numbered on the chased gold mounts, the lid mounted with a micromosaic plaque of a goldfinch perched on a branch against a white background within a millefiori border , 8.2cm diameter Provenance: sale, Ball & Graupe. Berlin, 17 December 1927, lot 132 (1400 Reichs-M.); private collection Provenance: purchased pieces in Germany in the 1920s, and later in New York in the 1940s Literature: Walter Holzhausen, Johann Christian Neuber, Dresden, 1935, no. 52, illust.; Alexis Kugel (Ed.), Gold, Jasper and Carnelian; Johann Christian Neuber at the Saxon Court, London, 2012, p. 368, no. 182, illust. By mounting the specimens à jour , Neuber makes a feature of the varying degrees of translucency of the hardstones; it is noteworthy how those on the lid tone with the colours of the micromosaic. A similar hardstone specimen bonbonnière by Neuber, the lid inset with an associated micromosaic plaque of birds drinking from a cup, is in a private collection, see Kugel, op. cit. , p. 368, no. 180. Johann Christian Neuber (1736-1808) served his apprenticeship under Johann Friedrich Tectaon; in 1762 he submitted his masterpiece, its favourable reception allowing him to join the goldsmith s guild in Dresden and to register as a burgher of the city. By 1768 he was recorded as artisan maker of galanteries to the Court , an indication of how rapidly his skills were recognised. In 1775, wishing to ensure a good supply of hardstone for his work, Neuber obtained a concession to mine amethyst and jasper near Schlottwitz, south of Dresden. His career and workshop continued to flourish until the late 1780s, when he began to suffer financial setbacks; retiring in 1805, he died three years later in reduced circumstances. Giacomo Raffaelli (1753-1836) came from a family who worked for the Studio del Mosaico della Fabbrica della Basilica di S. Pietro in Rome. He is credited with many of the innovations in mosaici in piccolo , although it is probable some had been developed a little earlier. In 1775 Raffaelli held the first recorded exhibition of micromosaics at his private studio in the Piazza di Spagna. His subject matter was varied, from birds, flowers and animals, to views of the monuments of Rome, all of which were popular with Grand Tourists. A micromosaic plaque attributed to Giacomo Raffaelli, showing the same bird in reverse and perched on a fruiting branch, is in the Gilbert Collection, inv. no. 1996.623 (MM237). ** This lot is subject to 5% Temporary Import Duty and the buyer must pay Temporary Import Duty on both the hammer and the buyer's premium at a rate of 5%.
