Long Gold Earrings Made of an Antique Brooch, c. 1880 & Later

Until the beginning of the 19th century, the forms of jewellery from classical antiquity were still unknown. Neither in the Renaissance nor in Classicism had excavations produced genuine jewellery from antiquity. The designs of these eras were merely approximations of an ideal that had to be derived from other contexts such as architecture or sculpture. 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 enjoy wearing some original pieces of Etruscan jewellery found at her country estate near Rome to the envy of her friends. However, the number of pieces, which were all chance finds, remained small, and only a fraction of the ladies were able to own original, millennia-old Etruscan jewellery. The goldsmiths of those years therefore soon began to produce pieces of jewellery based on ancient forms that were now finally known. Pio Castellani from Rome and his sons in particular excelled here, designing jewellery that became a trademark and fashion throughout Europe from the middle of the century. However, their work, which quickly became known as the "archaeological style", was also received with interest in the rest of Europe and merged with the forms of their own history. This pair of earrings speaks the formal language of this fashion. A richly decorated element is movably attached underneath an ear hoop with an attached ball, showing fine flowers and foliage together with fine cord soldering and coiled gold wires. Large pendulums are attached at the bottom, forming a semicircle. The earrings were probably created in the last decades of the 19th century from an antique brooch: The two richly ornamented upper parts were probably joined at their lower ends and framed a now-lost round showpiece, perhaps a mosaic or a precious stone, as a brooch. A skilled goldsmith separated them and added the small shells and pendulum. The result is something completely new and yet a coherent design in the taste of the late 19th century.# The pair came to us, as it is, from the south of England.

Estimate:£1,350.59

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