Micromosaics

A Little Micromosaic History

Micromosaics have been created in Italy since the mid-1600s. They were popular in the mid-1800s during the Grand Tour era. During that time, wealthy families would send their children as they attained adulthood in their twenties, often with chaperones, to travel around Europe and steep themselves in culture and fine art. In Italy, they purchased micromosaics in jewelry, snuff boxes, and other small items, which they brought home as souvenirs of their travels. Often the scenes in these tiny mosaics were images of archeological ruins or landscapes. Italian glass artists turned to making micromosaics to fill these wealthy tourists’ requests who would, at times, commission custom pieces. Creating and collecting micromosaics continued in Italy until the end of the Victorian era, in the early 1900s. During this time, micromosaic styles changed. They transformed from images of ancient historic sites into popular floral motifs, which were purchased by tourists who, with the advent of modern transportation, came to Italy in great numbers.

Creating Micromosaics

Micromosaics are made from tiny tiles called tesserae; in their most classic form, they are slender rectangles, though they can be almost any shape to fill gaps between tiles. The tesserae are tiny, but their size can vary. Smaller tesserae typically indicate a higher-quality item, and usually an older one as well. My winged lion pendant’s pieces are all as thick as a thread and about 2 millimeters long. Micromosaics are made using what are called filati, the Italian word for string. Coincidentally, most English-speaking glass artists call them stringers—pretty interesting, I think. To create the micromosaic, you start by nipping up the filati into small pieces called tesserae. The tesserae are laid into a bed of adhesive in birthday candle style—that is, they sit upright with the cut end showing. Thus, the diameter of the stringer (filati) dictates the size of the tesserae. Traditional Italian adhesive is a paste made from a secret recipe, closely guarded by the Italians. It contains marble powder, lime, and linseed oil, plus who knows what else? The Italians aren’t telling. Typically, the tesserae are set in some type of bezel to keep them in place. The most traditional settings are filigreed. As a micromosaic artist adds the tesserae to the bezel, they create a design of their choice. After the design is complete, the piece needs to rest while the paste dries, and then this wearable mosaic is ready to be worn. There are ways in which micromosaics can be ground and polished, but there is no need to. The shiny cut ends of the tesserae sparkle perfectly with no additional work needed.