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Description: | Copper alloy and glass Brooch. A square gilded copper alloy backplate and four strips of gilt edging, each studded with eleven tiny conical bosses, frame a concavo-convex display face of nine cells defined by twisted gilt copper alloy wire. Two dark spots on the flat back show where pin gear has been lost.The design conceit of what the finder describes as a miniature mosaic appears to be a flower garden. The nine cells form an equal armed cross with large central roundel, with a quarter circle in the angle of each pair of arms. The corner cells are flowerbeds filled by tiny densely spaced tiny glass tiles, including a single blue, red and white millefiori segment in each corner as flowers, against fields of green and white tiles in two opposed corners, and pink and white tiles in the other opposed. The cross arms are garden paths filled by alternating rows of black and white and blue, and red and white, tiles. The central roundel is the principal flowerbed. Described from the outside inwards, it has an outer border of white tiles with bar shaped tiles outside a ring of rod shaped tiles, a ring of green leaf-shaped tiles and an arc of black tiles possibly representing soil; and a centre is occupied by four or five blue and red millefiori flowers and two or three in red, black and white.The composite construction resembles that of framed plaques made up of seashells; as seaside souvenirs when made of locally common shells, or employing exotic tropical shells of many colours for more striking versions. The latter class often present romantic or religious motifs, and were often individually crafted as tokens of affection. This object may be similarly unique, though probably was a commissioned piece unless the donor was himself employed in the decorative arts. Suggested date: Post-Medieval, 1850-1900.Length: 23.0mm, Width: 22.5mm, Thickness: 7.0mm, Weight: 6.56gms.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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