Living History

Antique Carnelian Scarab and Gold Bangle by Castellani, Rome, c. 1860

€ 49,890.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Antique Carnelian Scarab and Gold Bangle by Castellani, Rome, c. 1860

Description

This description was automatically translated from German. If you have any questions about this piece of jewellery, we will be happy to help!

Until the beginning of the 19th century, the art of antiquity was the model for painting, sculpture and architecture. However, the forms of truly ancient jewellery were still unknown. Neither in the Renaissance nor in Classicism had excavations produced genuine jewellery of the ancients. The designs of these eras were merely approximations of an ideal that had to be derived from other contexts such as architecture. This changed abruptly with the discovery of genuine Etruscan jewellery in Italy from the 1820s onwards. Princess Alexandrine of Canino, for example, was known to wear original Etruscan pieces found at her country estate near Rome to the envy of her friends. But the number of chance finds remained small. The goldsmiths of the time therefore soon began to produce pieces of jewelry based on the ancient forms that were now finally known. Pio Castellani from Rome and his sons were particularly prominent in this revival of ancient jewellery. They designed jewellery that became a trademark and fashion throughout Europe from the middle of the century. Their designs are richly and sumptuously decorated, realized with great attention to detail and still highly collectible today. We are therefore delighted to be able to present an original bangle from the Castellani workshop. The bangle consists of four arches of high-carat gold, each of which bears a scarab cut from carnelian in the center. The outer hoops can be folded back and forth, while the lower hoop conceals a clasp hidden behind the scarab. All surfaces are covered with fine granulation and twisted bands. The original, additional overlay of fine gold gives the piece a soft, velvety appearance. Inside, the hoop is signed with the Castellani mark, two intertwined "C". In the 1850s and 1860s, the Castellani's work often included jewellery with scarabs. These small, carved representations of the animal, already revered in ancient Egypt as a symbol of eternal life, were also popular as jewellery in Etruscan times. One famous example is the large necklace from the collection of the Marchese Campana, now in the Louvre in Paris. Castellani made several necklaces based on this model, one of which is now in the V&A, another in the British Museum in London. Even more successful than necklaces were bracelets with scarabs. They were created in the Castellani workshop in two versions. A bangle very similar to the present one is in the collection of the Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, in Rome, inv. no. 85030, cf. the illustration from the catalog Susan Weber Soros/Stefani Walker (eds.): Castallani and Italian Archaeological Jewelry, New Haven/London 2004, p. 237. A second hoop is also illustrated in David Bennet and Daniela Mascetti: Understanding Jewellery, Woodbridge 2010, p. 191. A second model with wider gold hoops can be found, for example, in the collection of the V&A in London. Both models share the idea of creating a bangle consisting of several hinged bracelets that can be worn in different ways. The Castellani used original ancient scarabs from the 6th to 3rd centuries BC for their jewelry, which they purchased in large numbers from a wide variety of sources. However, Augusto Castellani was already aware of the problem at the beginning of the 1860s that the high prices he was prepared to pay for antique scarabs made of carnelian would also lead to forgeries on the market. However, he claimed to be able to distinguish between antique and modern scarabs and the workshop sold the jewelry as being set with antique scarabs. Modern methods of analysis have proven that the majority of the Castellani's jewellery is indeed made with ancient scarabs, although there are always individual modern specimens among them. We therefore assume that this piece also contains ancient scarabs from the centuries before the birth of Christ, although they might be mixed with ones contemporary to the bangle. (Cf. the above-mentioned catalog by Soros/Walker, p. 105.) The museum-worthy bangle is in first-class condition.

Size & Details

Living History

€ 49,890.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

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