Circulaire en serpentine, les montures en or à filets, le couvercle appliqué d’une micromosaïque figurant le temple de Minerva Medica, apparemment sans poinçons
D.: 8,4 cm. (3¹⁄₄ in.)
Poids brut: 168 gr. (5 oz. 8 dwt.)

Property of a Princely House; Sotheby's Munich, 8-9 décembre 1999, lot 82.

AN ITALIAN GOLD-MOUNTED HARDSTONE BONBONNIERE SET WITH A MICROMOSAIC
ROMA, CIRCA 1810
Circular serpentine box with rose gold moulded mounts, the cover set with a micromosaic depicting the temple of Minerva Medica, apparently unmarked

This micromosaic represents the temple of Minerva Medica, one of the most visited monuments in Rome. However, the real temple has today completely disappeared and the one that has been called the temple of Minerva Medica since the 17th century is in fact a nymphaeum, a pool fed by a supposedly sacred spring. It takes its name from a statue found on site representing the goddess Minerva with a serpent. Today, the circular ruin stands between the railway line leading to Rome's Termini station and today's Via Giovanni Giolotti, very close to Porta Maggiore.

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Lot Essay

Cette micromosaïque représente le temple de Minerva Medica, l’un des monuments les plus visités de Rome. Pourtant le vrai temple républicain a aujourd’hui complètement disparu et celui qu’on appelle depuis le XVIIe siècle le temple de Minerva Medica est en fait un nymphée, bassin alimenté par un source 'sacrée'. Il tirerait son nom d’une statue trouvée sur place représentant la déesse Minerve avec un serpent. Aujourd'hui, la ruine circulaire se dresse entre la voie ferrée menant à la gare Termini de Rome et l'actuelle via Giovanni Giolotti, tout près de la Porta Maggiore.