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The word Mosaico (mosaico or mosaicism) is transliterated from Mosaic and derives from the name "Musa", a goddess in ancient Greek mythology who mastered the art of poetry, meaning "artistic work that is worth pondering and requires patience".
The evolution of mosaic art
The history of mosaics, dating back more than 3,000 years BC to the Plains of Mesopotamia, was found in a temple building in the local Ubaid, where the earliest mosaic walls made of different materials were found, consisting of colored stones, shells and ivory, dating back more than five thousand years.
Mosaic walls
But when it comes to it, what really made mosaic usher in the golden age was that Christianity came to Rome, and with the support of the Roman Emperor Constantine, Christianity ushered in its good days, and mosaic art also ascended to the hall of elegance.
With the development of Christianity, the missionary work had a long way to go, because many ordinary people at that time were not highly educated. Therefore, Christians use mosaics to paint the story of Jesus, and spread Christian culture through puzzle mosaic mosaic murals.
Because of this, traces of mosaic art have been left in many churches around the world.
Mosaic Antique Jewelry: St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican
Mosaic Antique Jewelry: St. Peter's Square and St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican
Places like st. Louis Catholic Cathedral in the United States, russia's Hermitage and The Church of the Spilled Blood can be seen in other places.
The emergence of micro-mosaic jewelry
With the continuous evolution and development of mosaic craftsmanship, a superb micro mosaic process appeared, which began in ancient Rome and was also called filato mosaic.
Micro-masonry mosaic craft brooch with bracelet
It is recorded that from 1727 onwards, the mosaic masters of the Church of San Pietro in Vatican City began to use it.
Renowned artists Cesare Aguatti and Giacomo Raffaeli invented a new technique that allowed them to make miniature inlays smaller than 1 mm in diameter.
Micro-mosaic jewelry from the mid-19th century
Compared to the traditional mosaic process, the mosaic pieces produced by the micro-mosaic process are extremely tiny and thin, and the craftsman needs to finely process each component of the mosaic pattern.
Mosaic Antique Jewelry: Lion's Head
To form a delicate painting, the whole process is not only time-consuming, but each step can only be done by hand with the naked eye of the craftsman. Therefore, the inlay craftsman not only needs to be skilled in inlaying, but also must have a certain degree of artistic accomplishment in order to perfectly grasp the combination of color and shape.
Italian miniature mosaic jewelry collection, circa 1890
The "smalti filati" technology enables mosaic makers to draw painted originals in smaller sizes, and eventually even to produce true "miniature mosaics" with a thickness of less than 1 millimeter.
Miniature Mosaic Plaque: Ancient Colosseum (Details), 1800
This technique gained widespread popularity in the first half of the 18th century. Because of its expressiveness and miniaturization, it began to be applied to jewelry craftsmanship, resulting in very fine mosaic jewelry that was once popular in European aristocratic circles in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Queen Marie Louis of France
Even Napoleon's second empress, Marie Louise, was a fan of it, and when they got married, Napoleon's wedding gift was a full set of gold micro-mosaic jewelry made by Chammy Paris. With the fashion influence of the French royal family in Europe at that time, it set off a popular trend of micro-mosaic jewelry.
Napoleon's custom-made wedding jewelry for the empress, a set of miniature mosaic jewelry, created a classical scene with gold vines, decorated with blue molten glass
Since each piece is done by hand, each one is a unique and non-replicable work of art. The smaller and tighter the inlaid pieces, the more advanced the materials used (natural gemstones, gold and silver foils, etc.), the more unique the patterns inlaid (bright colors, rare subject matter), the better the state of preservation, the higher the collection value.
Fashion trends are back
Over the past 2 centuries, the micro-mosaic handicraft has been almost lost, and fewer craftsmen have learned this craft, and because the spliced particles are very small and separated from each other, they are easily damaged during preservation.
Gurhan bracelet
Nowadays, antique micro-mosaic jewelry in its entirety is also becoming less and less expensive.
Mosaic antique jewelry: a pair of pigeons
Fortunately, many well-known brands have shouldered the heavy responsibility of inheritance and used contemporary works to arouse the public's attention to traditional handicrafts.
For example, Sicis Jewels, a brand that loves micro-mosaic jewelry, is headquartered in Ravenna, Italy.
Founder Leo Placuzzi and his daughter Gioia created the brand in 2013 after a decade of historical and technical research into the art form.
Sicis has a patented process of adding gemstone materials such as ground diamonds, gold and sapphires to micro-mosaics to enhance color.
Because of this, the biggest feature of Sicis micro-mosaic jewelry is the extra bright and rich color, in order to achieve this ultimate pursuit of color, they will always spend more time looking for the most consistent gemstones.
Thanks to its unique micro-mosaic technique, Sicis Jewels has long been known to more and more people.
Sicis Infinity ring
Platinum, 9.25 ctathanzanite
Micro-set mosaics, diamonds
And with the continuous updating of the material, micro-mosaic jewelry has once again blossomed brilliant flowers in modern times, forming a more textured and color-impact jewelry art, providing a richer jewelry experience.
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