The annular tortoiseshell box embellished to its lid with an annular micro mosaic scene depicting the famous Roman marble sculpture 'Centaur with Cupid' en grisaille, within a yellow gold surround engraved with floral and foliate motifs, 1775-1800.

This scene is after a well-known ancient Roman sculpture known as the 'Borghese Centaure', now housed in The Louvre.

Famous statues from antiquity were a popular theme for micro mosaics in the late 18th Century. The technique itself having been born from the restoration of ancient examples and refined (or at least made miniature) in an attempt to create portable versions of this ancient decorative medium, it was a naturally popular subject matter for the wealthy admirers of Ancient Rome making their pilgrimage to Italy in the Neoclassical tradition.

It was of course not only the 18th Century enthusiasts that admired these artefacts, this particular statue was even found amongst drawings made my Rubens from the early 17th Century.