Victorian Micro Mosaic Love Birds Pendant Necklace

A Victorian micro-mosaic pendant of twin love birds giving each other a quick peck while perched on branches filled with flowers, hung from a fine 14k cable chain. The mosaic and setting are both most likely of Italian origin, the gold frame is decorated with Etruscan Revival filigree with a rich patina and high karat color reminiscent of ancient Roman jewels.

Perfect as a "something blue" bridal gift, covering old, new and blue in one charming piece.

Condition: In excellent antique condition, with moderate patina and some light oxidization to the metal, with sokme subtle marks on the back where pin findings may have been. The mosaic has no obvious missing pieces.

History: Mosaics, fashioned of small pieces of glass or hardstone called tesserae, have been produced for literally thousands of years, with earliest examples attributed to the Ancient Greeks. Micro-mosaics were developed in the late 18th century by the Italian craftsman Giacomo Raffaelli to cater to the "Grand Tour" crowd; in the 18th and 19th century a tour of archeological and historial sites throughout Europe was considered an essential part of an upper-class person's education, and this rite of passage became known as the "Grand Tour".

As these tiny treasures grew in popularity craftsmen in Rome teamed with jewelers in Florence to produce beautifully designed and sometimes impossibly small-scale mosiac art to set in decorative objects and jewels for the elite to purchase as a remembrance of their trip.