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Table with Flora of the Two Sicilies - below: circular micromosaic tabletop bottom: detail of tabletop

Description
A circular micromosaic tabletop in which six landscapes of southern Italy are depicted: Naples, Pompeii, Tindari, Palermo, Taormina, and Pestum. Separating the regional depictions is luxurious foliage. A mosaic ribbon border surrounds the landscapes and foliage. In capital letters under each city is its name. Under the foliage are the names of the different floras in Italian script. The centre of the tabletop depicts a sky and a young lady is profiled dead centre.

The tabletop rests on a gilt-bronze stand shaped in a four-sided pyramidal pedestal. A lion’s paw below a lions mask supports each side. The entire stand and tabletop rests upon a four-sided plinth.

Commentary
Created by Michelangelo Barberi around 1850, it is said to have been a purchase by Tsar Nicholas I. Its specifics were to be made up of Sicily, Naples, and its vicinity. The portrait of his daughter, Grand Duchess Olga, was requested to be placed in the centre of the table inside a star and therefore eclipsing the sun.

The workmanship is impeccable and might be seen as a painting rather than a micromosaic due to the tesserae fitting so closely together. The contrast between the dark ribbon border and the blue sky adds to the scenery by adding to the vividness of the colours used to create each city.

Glossaries
micromosaic - as used to describe the formation of the table top, is a term coined by Sir Arthur Gilbert in reference to the Roman mosaics with the smallest tesserae. Some have been known to contain as many as 1,500-5,000 tesserae per square inch.

tessera (plural tesserae) - comes from the Greek meaning “four sided.” The term refers to the pieces, which make up a mosaic, and are usually a hard inorganic material such as marble, stone, opaque enamel, glass or other mineral substance, natural or man-made. In reference to the Roman mosaics the tesserae would be opaque enamel.

Note - More micromosaics can be found in the Italian mosaics section.

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