- 95
A micromosaic panel
Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 GBP
bidding is closed
Description
- panel width overall 16cm, 10in, in giltwood frame
Rome, circa 1780
rectangular, inlaid with a view of the ruined remains of the Temple of Minerva Medica, set in the Roman campagna with soft purple hills in the distance, rosso antico and black marble borders
rectangular, inlaid with a view of the ruined remains of the Temple of Minerva Medica, set in the Roman campagna with soft purple hills in the distance, rosso antico and black marble borders
Catalogue Note
According to Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel, the Temple of Minerva Medica has traditionally been misnamed. According to legend, the famous early 4th century BC statue of Athena, known as the Giustiniani Minerva, came from this temple in the Horti Liciniani, once owned by the Emperur Gallienus (253-268). In fact, the statue was found in the convent gardens of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, near the Pantheon. This domed temple collapsed almost completely in 1828 (J.H.Gabriel, The Gilbert Collection, Micromosaics, London, 2000, p. 178).