Mastery of Design: The Castellani Diadem, 1860

Diadem
Castellani, c. 1860
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Italian jewelry firm of Castellani made this diadem around 1860 based on an Etruscan original which dated to about 300 B.C. The original is the Campana Collection in the Louvre.

This tiara was copied four more times with each of the copies remaining in private collections. This one was shown at the International Exhibition in London in 1862. There, the works of Castellani garnered much attention and acclaim. So many flocked to the Castellani exhibit, in fact, that a policeman was stationed outside of the display to control the crowds. Certainly, the diadem was the centerpiece of the group.

The piece is made of gold with open floral-work. It is set with pearls, and beads and features enameled, serrated leaves and beaded blue berries. 

Unusual Artifacts: The Castellani Etruscan Scarab Necklace, 500 B.C. to 1925 A.D.

Necklace
Ancient Granulated Gold Beads and Etruscan
Carnelian Scarabs set in Gold.
Artifacts: 500 - 300 B.C.
Setting: 1920-1025
Castellani, Rome
This and all related images:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This beautiful necklace is the result of over two thousand years of artistry. In the Nineteenth Century, jewelers began to experiment with resurrecting ancient jewelry styles which they based on then-recent archeological finds. The trend reached new heights of popularity in the early Twentieth Century.

The Italian jewelry firm, Castellani, was among the leaders in this movement. This necklace is an adaptation of archeological-style jewelry which is rooted both in Nineteenth Century ideals and ancient styles as well as incorporates actual Etruscan artifacts into the piece.

The jeweler based the design on earlier Nineteenth Century prototypes, chiefly, the Campana Collection necklace which is housed in the Louvre. This design features authentic Etruscan carnelian scarabs strung with truly ancient, granulated gold beads. Using these ancient elements to produce a necklace in a new, popular style was both a novelty and a way of rescuing broken and discarded artifacts. 

Figure of the Day: An Actor, 2nd C. BC

An Actor
Etruscan, Second Century B.C.
The British Museum

Made in Italy in the Second Century B.C., this terracotta figure depicts a comic actor. As was the theatrical style of the time, the actor has donned a mask. This mask is a broad representation of a bald slave. He carries something in his hand, but what? Is it a purse? We’re unsure. The figure was found in Carino, Italy and is an excellent representation of the figural work of our Etruscan forebears.

Mastery of Design: The Treskow Fish Brooch, 1953

Brooch
Treskow, 1953
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, we have a brooch which plays on the tradition of the Victorian and Edwardian ideals of creating jewelry in Naturalistic forms. This brooch, clearly modern in design, takes the form of a fish--the eye suggested by a sapphire set into a depression lined with granulation, the scales are indicated by diamonds set into lozenges of granulation. A baroque pearl is set into the upper part of the tail fin.


While jewelry had always been “wearable art,” in the early post-war years, jewelers really began to play with this idea and the concept that jewels allowed the expression of the character of the wearer as much as that of the designer. Jewels of this period are defined by abstract designs which bend the traditional through the use of Naturalistic motifs which are heightened by stones with unconventional shapes and asymmetrical composition.

This is the work of Elisabeth Treskow whose early jewelry follows the Bauhaus principles. In the 1920s, Treskow showed her interest in ancient jewelry—incorporating ancient gems in many of her contemporary pieces. Treskow owned a large collection of ancient jewels which she bequeathed to the Museum für Angewandte Kunst, in Cologne.

Treskow was particularly fascinated by the Etruscans, and explored the technique of granulation in which minute grains of gold are applied to the surface without of a piece without using solder. This fish shows her desire to revive the technique of granulation. 

Object of the Day, Museum Edition: The Castellani Diadem, 1860

Diadem
Castellani, c. 1860
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Italian jewelry firm of Castellani made this diadem around 1860 based on an Etruscan original which dated to about 300 B.C. The original is the Campana Collection in the Louvre.

This tiara was copied four more times with each of the copies remaining in private collections. This one was shown at the International Exhibition in London in 1862. There, the works of Castellani garnered much attention and acclaim. So many flocked to the Castellani exhibit, in fact, that a policeman was stationed outside of the display to control the crowds. Certainly, the diadem was the centerpiece of the group.

The piece is made of gold with open floral-work. It is set with pearls, and beads and features enameled, serrated leaves and beaded blue berries. 

Unusual Artifacts: The Castellani Etruscan Scarab Necklace, 500 B.C. to 1925 A.D.

Necklace
Ancient Granulated Gold Beads and Etruscan
Carnelian Scarabs set in Gold.
Artifacts: 500 - 300 B.C.
Setting: 1920-1025
Castellani, Rome
This and all related images:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This beautiful necklace is the result of over two thousand years of artistry. In the Nineteenth Century, jewelers began to experiment with resurrecting ancient jewelry styles which they based on then-recent archeological finds. The trend reached new heights of popularity in the early Twentieth Century.

The Italian jewelry firm, Castellani, was among the leaders in this movement. This necklace is an adaptation of archeological-style jewelry which is rooted both in Nineteenth Century ideals and ancient styles as well as incorporates actual Etruscan artifacts into the piece.

The jeweler based the design on earlier Nineteenth Century prototypes, chiefly, the Campana Collection necklace which is housed in the Louvre. This design features authentic Etruscan carnelian scarabs strung with truly ancient, granulated gold beads. Using these ancient elements to produce a necklace in a new, popular style was both a novelty and a way of rescuing broken and discarded artifacts. 

Mastery of Design: The Castellani Diadem, 1860

Diadem
Castellani, c. 1860
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The Italian jewelry firm of Castellani made this diadem around 1860 based on an Etruscan original which dated to about 300 B.C. The original is the Campana Collection in the Louvre.

This tiara was copied four more times with each of the copies remaining in private collections. This one was shown at the International Exhibition in London in 1862. There, the works of Castellani garnered much attention and acclaim. So many flocked to the Castellani exhibit, in fact, that a policeman was stationed outside of the display to control the crowds. Certainly, the diadem was the centerpiece of the group.

The piece is made of gold with open floral-work. It is set with pearls, and beads and features enameled, serrated leaves and beaded blue berries. 

Figure of the Day: An Actor, 2nd C. BC

An Actor
Etruscan, Second Century B.C.
The British Museum

Made in Italy in the Second Century B.C., this terracotta figure depicts a comic actor. As was the theatrical style of the time, the actor has donned a mask. This mask is a broad representation of a bald slave. He carries something in his hand, but what? Is it a purse? We’re unsure. The figure was found in Carino, Italy and is an excellent representation of the figural work of our Etruscan forebears.

Mastery of Design: The Treskow Fish Brooch, 1953

Brooch
Treskow, 1953
The Victoria & Albert Museum

From the year of Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, we have a brooch which plays on the tradition of the Victorian and Edwardian ideals of creating jewelry in Naturalistic forms. This brooch, clearly modern in design, takes the form of a fish--the eye suggested by a sapphire set into a depression lined with granulation, the scales are indicated by diamonds set into lozenges of granulation. A baroque pearl is set into the upper part of the tail fin.


While jewelry had always been “wearable art,” in the early post-war years, jewelers really began to play with this idea and the concept that jewels allowed the expression of the character of the wearer as much as that of the designer. Jewels of this period are defined by abstract designs which bend the traditional through the use of Naturalistic motifs which are heightened by stones with unconventional shapes and asymmetrical composition.

This is the work of Elisabeth Treskow whose early jewelry follows the Bauhaus principles. In the 1920s, Treskow showed her interest in ancient jewelry—incorporating ancient gems in many of her contemporary pieces. Treskow owned a large collection of ancient jewels which she bequeathed to the Museum für Angewandte Kunst, in Cologne.

Treskow was particularly fascinated by the Etruscans, and explored the technique of granulation in which minute grains of gold are applied to the surface without of a piece without using solder. This fish shows her desire to revive the technique of granulation.

Mastery of Design: The Castellani Etruscan Scarab Necklace, 500 B.C. to 1925 A.D.

Necklace
Ancient Granulated Gold Beads and Etruscan
Carnelian Scarabs set in Gold.
Artifacts: 500 - 300 B.C.
Setting: 1920-1025
Castellani, Rome
This and all related images:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

This beautiful necklace is the result of over two thousand years of artistry. In the Nineteenth Century, jewelers began to experiment with resurrecting ancient jewelry styles which they based on then-recent archeological finds. The trend reached new heights of popularity in the early Twentieth Century.

The Italian jewelry firm, Castellani, was among the leaders in this movement. This necklace is an adaptation of archeological-style jewelry which is rooted both in Nineteenth Century ideals and ancient styles as well as incorporates actual Etruscan artifacts into the piece.

The jeweler based the design on earlier Nineteenth Century prototypes, chiefly, the Campana Collection necklace which is housed in the Louvre. This design features authentic Etruscan carnelian scarabs strung with truly ancient, granulated gold beads. Using these ancient elements to produce a necklace in a new, popular style was both a novelty and a way of rescuing broken and discarded artifacts.