Roman micromosaic plaque depicting The Doves of Pliny
£12,000
This delicately crafted and exceptionally fine antique Italian micromosaic plaque is based on a famous ancient Roman floor mosaic, known as the Capitoline Doves.
The round mosaic depicts four doves drinking water from an ornate bowl, set against a blue background.
The design of the mosaic is Classical and is based on an ancient floor mosaic found in the villa of the Roman Emperor Hadrian (2nd Century AD). This floor mosaic is known as the Capitoline Doves, but is also referred to as the Doves of Pliny because a description of the mosaic appears in the Roman historian Pliny the Elder's Natural History, completed in 77 AD. Hadrian's floor mosaic was, in turn, probably based on a mosaic by the master Greek artist Sosus of Pergamon. The image was popular among micromosaicists of the 18th and 19th Centuries and this work represents a particularly fine example.