GUEST: I got it from my father-in-law, who got it from his best friend that got it in Rome.

He was there for about a year making a movie in the '60s.

He was a screenwriter.

And so he brought this home.

And then I saw it at his house one day.

I'm, like, "Oh, my gosh, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

And so one day, my husband came home with it and said, "My dad said give you this," and so I was, like, "Oh!"

(laughs) APPRAISER: So this is a Grand Tour souvenir from Rome in Italy, dating between 1860 and 1880.

And it's known as a micromosaic.

The art of micromosaic was very popular in the 14th century...

GUEST: Mmm.

APPRAISER: ...in modern-day Istanbul.

GUEST: Oh!

APPRAISER: They really developed the technique.

The center panel is comprised of small glass tesserae, tens of thousands of them, in colored glass.

GUEST: (whispers): Wow!

APPRAISER: Those are set within a piece of black slate.

And then that green bit, that is a piece of stone known as malachite.

So this is the scene of the Roman Forum...

GUEST: Mmm.

APPRAISER: ...which was the center of daily life in Rome at the period.

And these sort of archaeological ruins were among the most prized sites for visitors to see...

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: ...particularly in the 18th and 19th centuries, when many aristocrats and young scholars were on what was called the Grand Tour through Europe.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Specifically here in the Forum, we have a number of, of sites.

You have the Temple of Saturn in the center.

The pillars onthe left depict the remnants of the Temple of Vespasian and Titus.

It's about ten by four inches, which, for a micromosaic, is a fairly large size.

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: Many of these in the period were sold with frames.

GUEST: Oh!

APPRAISER: And I suspect originally this may have had a gilt wood frame.

GUEST: Oh!

Oh, that would be pretty.

APPRAISER: There were a number of workshops...

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: ...that produced pieces like this.

One of the most notable is the Vatican workshop.

GUEST: Oh!

APPRAISER: In looking at the quality of the tesserae pieces here...

GUEST: Mm-hmm.

APPRAISER: ...the colors of the glass, the intricacy of the panel...

GUEST: Oh, I can't believe it's that... .APPRAISER: ..it's quite possible that this was done by the Vatican workshops.

GUEST: Oh!

APPRAISER: We would need to do some more research...

GUEST: Yeah.

APPRAISER: ...to confirm that.

GUEST: Okay!

APPRAISER: Were this to come up in a well-advertised auction, I would expect it to bring between $7,000 and $10,000.

GUEST: Nice!

Nice!

Yeah, I love it.

(laughs)