Micromosaic Table

Artist Pietro Bigaglia (Italian, 1786 - 1876)

Place of OriginItaly

Dateabout 1868-1873

Dimensions33 1/4 × 26 in. (84.5 × 66 cm)

MediumBelgian black marble top inlaid with polychrome glass paste and sequins imitating aventurine. Glass micromosaic center. Base in blackened pear wood, and glass paste

ClassificationFurniture

Credit LineGift of The Georgia Welles Apollo Society

Object number

2023.322

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 32

Label TextHave you ever bought a special souvenir to commemorate a memorable vacation? This table would have been an especially extravagant keepsake for a wealthy 19th-century tourist visiting Venice, Italy. The table is a tour-de-force, from the carved lions at the base to the thin, colorful, cut-to-shape sheets of inlaid aventurine glass, a type of glass that includes flecks of copper that give it a reflective sparkle. At the center of the tabletop is a “micromosaic” scene of the Rialto Bridge, a popular Venetian tourist attraction. It is painstakingly assembled from tiny pieces of colored glass with such skill that it resembles a painting at first glance.Published ReferencesAtti ufficiali della Esposizione Universale di Vienna del 1873: catalogo generale degli espositori Italiani, Tipografia Barbera, 1873, p. 120, no. 2544. Didier Aaron, XI, Opio, ImagesArt, 2010, no. 43, ill.Exhibition HistoryBiennale internationale des antiquaires, Paris, Grand Palais, 2014.