#castellani

[blondebrainpowered]

Egyptian Revival Necklace and Brooch, Castellani, ca. 1860.

Gold, Steatite, Faience and Micro mosaic.

Photo Courtesy of Sotheby's.

[arthistoryanimalia]

#MosaicMonday:

Castellani (Italian, 1814–1930) Micromosaic #lion brooch, c.1870 gold & glass, 3.5 x 4 in (8.9 x 10.2 cm) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 2021.756

"The imagery of this brooch may have been inspired by the lion's head depicted on a Roman floor mosaic discovered in the House of Doves in Pompeii."

[tiaramania]

Tiaras at Ajuda Palace

Last summer the new Royal Treasury Museum within Ajuda National Palace in Lisbon was opened to display the Portuguese Crown Jewels. The new museum was built using insurance money from the 2002 theft of some of the jewels when they were on exhibition in the Netherlands and was part of a larger restoration project of the palace. Find out more about visiting here.

The museum features several tiaras and a lot of other jewelry like the emerald bow brooch below that I just had to include.

Queen Maria Pia's Diadem of Stars by Estêvão de Sousa, 1868 with later alterations

Queen Maria Pia's Laurel Wreath Tiara by Castellani, circa 1862 as a wedding gift from the city of Rome

Queen Maria Pia's Coral Tiara, circa 1862 as a wedding gift from the city of Naples

Queen Maria II's Sapphire Tiara, 1840s - This tiara is not part of the crown jewels and was sold at Christie's in 2021 for 1,948,558 USD but the new owner has loaned it to the museum.

Infanta Maria Ana's Emerald Bow Brooch, mid 1700s with later tassel addition

[detournementsmineurs]

"Grace Rose" by Frederick Sandys (1866), "Bracelet" by Pasquale Novissimi, chiref designer of Carlo Giuliano (1860-70), "Marchese CAmpana Collection" bought for the Louvre by Napoleon III (1861) and "Etruscan Cumae Diadem" copied by Castellani (circa 1860-80) presented in “A History of Jewellery: Bedazzled (part 5: 19th Century)” by Beatriz Chadour-Sampson - International Jewellery Historian and Author - for the V&A Academy online, march 2024.

[gemville]

Necklace and Brooch by Castellani, Italian, Circa 1860

Gold, Glass and Scarabs

Photo Courtesy: Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston

Source: thejewelryloupe.com

[victorianjewellery]

Pair of"Juno-head" earrings. Made by Castellani. Gold. French wires suspend the head and neck of a woman wearing a diadem, floral earrings, and a knotted necklace. The diadem and bottom of the neck are edged with beaded wire.

"It is [...] possible that one of the 'Juno-head' earrings is an ancient, but adapted object. This is suggested by various technical and stylistic variations, such as the treatment of the eyes and greater use of spiral beaded wire, and by a slight variation in gold composition, with the left one having gold of slightly lower purity. In addition, the other earring bears the Castellani double-C filigree monogram."

In Jack Ogden, "Revivers of the Lost Art: Alessandro Castellani and the Quest for Classical Precision." Castellani and Italian Archaeological Jewelry, p. 182.

[maudeboggins]

Archaeological revival necklace and cravat pin

ca. 1880

Castellani

One of the purest expression of the nineteenth century’s interest in historical styles is found in the so-called archaeological jewelry produced by firms such as Castellani. Castellani looked to Etruscan, ancient Roman, Byzantine, and Medieval styles for inspiration for its jewelry, and it sought out ancient techniques as well as motifs for reinterpretation. Archaeological jewelry was extremely popular in Europe in the second half of the nineteenth century, and was actively acquired at the highest levels of society.

[sartorialadventure]

Gold necklace set with Greek silver coins of Metapontum in Lucania, ca. 350 BCE, made by Castellani, ca. 1880-90