If jade culture runs through the entire history of Eastern civilization, then mosaic mosaic art runs through the entire history of Western civilization. From the Roman period, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and up to the modern era, many classic works have been left behind.
Figure 1: The Beautiful Maiden of Durrës (Ancient Greek City now Albania Founded in the 4th century BC)
Figure 2: Battle of Issus (created in ancient Rome, Pompeii in Rome in the 1st century BC, now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples)
Figure 3: Mosaic floor of the Nebo Church on Mount Nebo (built in the second half of the 4th century, on the ridge of the Abarlin Abarim in Western Asia, Jordan)
As early as the Xia Dynasty, china has also appeared with turquoise inlaid jewelry.
Fig. 4: Bronze bronze plaque with turquoise inlaid in the Xia Dynasty
The word mosaic (English mosaic) is derived from the ancient Greek word and originally meant artistic work that required quiet, patient thinking. Mosaic artworks are characterized by a hard texture, rich colors, diverse materials, and a unique aesthetic taste.
Pictured: Mosaic murals in the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in St. Petersburg
Pictured: Mosaic altarpiece of St. Peter's Church
The Vatican, located in Rome, designed by architects such as Michelangelo, is the most beautiful mosaic of St. Peter's Basilica. The work is a reproduction of the oil painting, the author uses mosaics to restore the various details in the picture, the material tools are closely arranged, the technical exquisite effect is realistic, so that the audience at the first glance of the painting, think it is a realistic oil painting, amazing, the work was completed in 1767. In the history of the development of mosaic setting, many oil paintings and frescoes that are difficult to preserve have been copied and preserved in the form of mosaics, becoming a precious historical heritage. Similar techniques have been applied to jewelry. This special mosaic inlay process is called "micromosaics". During the suspension of work at the Holy See, mosaic artists began experimenting with micro-mosaics to make portable artworks and wearable jewelry. Since then, micro-mosaic works have gradually flowed into the private market and soon became popular in France.
Pictured: Signature "Aguati" circa 1820-1840 (Courtesy of Sotheby's)
In early micro-mosaic works, mosaics were mostly made of mosaic glass blocks (tesserae) and an enamel-like material derived from Italy. It mainly depicts Roman realistic architecture, beautiful pastoral scenery, mainly animals and flowers. They are usually set on mother shells or agate or gold bases and strung together with gold chains to make jewelry.
Pictured: Micro-mosaic necklace from the early 19th century
The process of creating micro-mosaic works takes a lot of time, and each step can only be done by hand with the naked eye of the craftsman. This requires that the inlay craftsman not only needs superb inlay skills, but also must have a certain degree of artistic accomplishment in order to perfectly grasp the combination effect of color changes and shapes. Francesca, an Italian mosaic jewelry designer, said that the micro-mosaic making process is very harmful to the eyes, and usually after making it for 3 hours a day, it is impossible to do anything else, or even read a book.
Pictured: A set of jewelry that Napoleon gave to his bride Marie Louise in the early nineteenth century is now part of the French Crown Jewels. Galerie' Apollon at the Louvre in Paris
Pictured: Napoleon's newlywed jewelry custom-made for the Empress, this set of micro-mosaic jewelry creates a classical scene with gold vines and blue molten glass.
If any kind of jewelry can be called a real work of art, it must be a micro-mosaic mosaic. To date, only a few master-level mosaic masters have worked in Rome, with high skills and techniques, and due to the tedious complexity of their skills, the micro-mosaic process has been lost.
Pictured: Mosaic antique jewelry "Pliny the Pigeon" Giacomo Raffaelli (1753-1836) The work is now located in the British Museum
Pictured: Jupiter Otricolo's head, Clament Hewly, signed and dated (courtesy of Sotheby's)
Pictured: Mosaic mosaic Roman tabletop, built in 1864 by Michelangelo Barberi (1787-1867) (Sotheby's sold for 112,500GBP)
Pictured: Antique micro-mosaic snuff box Filipo Puglieschi Rome (panel circa 1810) Sold at auction for $170,000
The micro-mosaic is an indelible and brilliant page in the history of jewelry, and to this day, this process is still the inspiration for the world's top jewelry. Since the micro-mosaic works are all done by hand, each piece is a unique and non-replicable work of art. The smaller and tighter the insert used in the setting, the more advanced the material used (natural jade, gemstone, gold and silver, etc.), the more unique the pattern inlaid (beautiful color matching, rare theme), the better the preservation state, the higher the collection value.
Pictured: Cartier Santos-Dumont Equalisery Decorative Watches & Tortue Watches
Pictured: Micro-mosaic jewelry "Yuyue" (turquoise, 18k gold) Liang Zhenglu (China) signed and dated 2021
The production process of using natural jade as a mosaic inlay material is more difficult than that commonly used in the West such as glass enamel. Because each piece of inlay needs to be cut by hand, chamfered, sanded, screened, color matched, the whole process takes a lot of time. And the mosaic master is required to have a high understanding of the material characteristics of jade, have a good ability to control jade carving, and have a high degree of achievement in color.
"Yu Yue" - inspired by "Sub-fish, the joy of knowing the fish?" (From Zhuangzi and Keiko in "Zhuangzi and Keiko Swim in Haoliang" in "Zhuangzi Autumn Water") The work uses a large number of tonal (turquoise) inlays, which show the effect of natural light and shadow, and to achieve this, the mosaics must be extremely small and the color transition is natural. The work perfectly shows the vivid scene of the fish swimming freely in the clear water, which is very three-dimensional. The overall temperament of the work is fresh, profound and interesting. Embodied by micro-mosaic technology, it can be said that it has reached the world's advanced level and is a representative work of micro-mosaic jewelry in China.
Liang Zhenglu
Introduction Excellent Jewelry Designer Liang Zhenglu Stage Name Jian Yue Graduated from the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts of Jiangsu The founder and artistic director of the Beijing Jewelry Association "Zhen Yuexuan" brand founder and artistic director Liang Zhenglu jewelry carving art studio