ATTRIBUTED TO GIOACCHINO BARBERI (1772-1857), ROME, CIRCA 1800

The subject is taken from The Rooster and The Hen by Johann Wencelaus Peter (1745-1829) now on display at the Vatican Museum. Gioacchino Barberi (1783-1857) who worked in Rome at 99 Piazza de Spagna, near the Spanish steps, was recorded in 1847 by G. Moroni (Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica, Venice, 1847, XLVII, pp. 79-80) as one of the leading artists of miniature micromosaics. His father, Paolo Emilio, was a painter and his uncle, Cavaliere Michelangelo was another famous micromosaic artist. For more information on the Barberi family, see J. Hanisee Gabriel, The Gilbert Collection. Micromosaics, London, 2000, pp. 281-282.