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Table Top with Micromosaic Views of Rome and the U.S. Centennial International Exposition

Artist Unknown

CultureItalian (Rome)

Dateca. 1876

MediumGlass micromosaic and marble

Dimensions1/2 × 22 3/4 in. (1.3 × 57.8 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Object number2017.6

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 213

DescriptionThis is a circular black marble table top, 22 3/4 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. The top is decorated with six oval-shaped micromosaic vignettes showing famous sites in Rome, all surrounding a central circular micromosaic vignette depicting the Memorial Hall of the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The outer vignettes depict the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, Temple of Hercules Victor, the Campidoglio, and the Tomb of Caecilia Matella. All are ringed in black marble, while the central vignette features a ring of green malachite arranged in a sunburst pattern, laid in mosaic triangles against giallo antico marble. The remainder of the table top is decorated with inlaid irregularly shaped larger specimen fragments of colorful and highly figured marble. There are no markings, labels, or inscriptions. The piece has no base, and it is unknown if it was ever displayed with a base or actually used as a table.
Label TextTable Top with Micromosaic Views of Rome and the U.S. Centennial International Exposition, ca. 1876 Italian (Rome) Glass micromosaic and marble In the late 1700s workshops in Rome began making exquisitely detailed pictures using tiny pieces of glass. Travelers to Italy purchased jewelry, plaques, and marble tables decorated with these micromosaic vignettes, often depicting famous Grand Tour sites like the Pantheon and Colosseum. This unusual example breaks tradition by featuring at its center not St. Peter’s Basilica, but Memorial Hall, the art gallery pavilion at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. Serving as a transatlantic advertisement for fine Italian craftsmanship, it also suggests that America’s arts and industries, as displayed at the expo, are inheriting the mantle of ancient and Renaissance cultural genius. Museum purchase 2017.6 ProvenanceLucia Howard of Piraneseum, San Francisco, CA; Chrysler Museum of Art, March 2017