Guardian Angel

Antique Gold Brooch with Lovely Cameo, Italy ca. 1870

€ 1,190.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Antique Gold Brooch with Lovely Cameo, Italy ca. 1870

Description

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

Come with us on a journey to Rome, the Eternal City. Here, in the two-thousand-year-old metropolis on the Tiber, a completely new fashion for jewellery emerged in the middle of the 19th century. Goldsmiths such as the masters of the Castellani family created here - for the first time in modern history - objects in the style of antiquity, based on precious pieces from Etruscan tombs and Roman models, thus making the jewellery and beauty of antiquity tangible for women. This jewellery in the so-called archaeological style was a great success. As a reference to its own great history, it aroused great interest. Like Germany, Italy had only become a unified nation state in the 19th century. Jewellery in these particularly Italian forms (at the same time modern and never seen before) showed one's own history and great cultural tradition, of which one was the heir. This is a particularly well-preserved, first-class piece of jewelry in this style, designed in a very typical manner. It is a brooch made of high-carat gold with a particularly vividly carved shell cameo. The wide frame bears rich ornamentation based on antique models, typical of this style: we see a sequence of chains and twisted cords that give the frame its beautiful play of light and shadow. The cameo shows an angel, a putto with wings. The carving leaves the level of the relief and appears much more like a sculpture. The white of the depiction arches over the brown background and the angel's head is almost sculpturally free. It offers different, detailed views from the left and right and yet is delicate and beautiful in its childlike forms. This unique Roman combination of antiquity and Christianity is typical of archaeological-style jewellery from Rome. Here, in the city of emperors and popes, one could hardly exist without the other. And apparently this connection was still so alive in the 19th century that gallant ladies and visitors to the city saw it as typical of Rome and were therefore happy to purchase jewellery with these motifs. The brooch is very well preserved and was obviously always cherished. All the shapes are so clear that it is hard to believe that this piece was also made by hand. It was created around 1870.

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On the exemplary works of the Castellani and on dating, see e.g. Susan Weber Soros/Stefani Walker (eds.): Castallani and Italian Archaeological Jewelry, New Haven/London 2004, e.g. pp. 16ff., also David Bennet and Daniela Mascetti: Understanding Jewellery,

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Size & Details

Guardian Angel

€ 1,190.00 ^*

Content 1 piece

Incl. VAT, Shipping

Our Promise

We want you to be 100% satisfied! For that reason, we examine, describe and photograph all of our jewellery with the utmost care.

You can rely on our years of experience in the trade and our expertise as a professional art historians for reviews of the antique jewellery. As a member of various trade organisations and the British Society of Jewellery Historians, we remain committed to the highest possible degree of accuracy. In our descriptions, we always also indicate any signs of age and defects and never hide them in our photos – this saves you from any unpleasant surprises when your package arrives.

Should you for some reason not be satisfied, please don’t hesitate to contact us so that we can find a solution together. In any case, you can return any article within one month and we will refund the full purchase price.

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Guardian Angel

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