# Miniature Grotto

- By: Nevers, France
- Date: Early 18th century
- Medium: Glass; lampwork (verre de Nevers), metal armature
- Classification: Glass
- Dimensions: 47.7 × 52.1 × 19.1 cm (18 3/4 × 20 1/2 × 7 1/2 in.)
- Culture: France
- Credit line: Bequest of Kate L. Brewster
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/63938)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/2baa2aff-1ccd-b32c-98c2-c1aa51f5e395/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

In France, independent craftspeople known as emaillers specialized in small glass figures made by melting rods of opaque and colored glass (emaille) into a molten liquid, which they applied onto metal armatures. Such figures were made in several regions of Europe, but by the 1700s the French city of Nevers was especially well-known for them. Their relatively low cost made them accessible to a range of consumers, who could purchase individual figures or sophisticated compositions presented in glazed frames or boxes. Secular and religious subjects were sometimes combined in intricate dioramas designed to delight and instruct.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0