Brooch
ca. 1860 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This brooch by Castellani of Rome, the leading firm making jewellery in the archaeological style, is in the form of an ensign of a Roman legion. A similar brooch was shown by Castellani at the London International Exhibition in 1862 and was selected for illustration in Masterpieces of Industrial Art and Sculpture at the International Exhibition, 1862 (London, 1863, plate 212) by J. B. Waring. The eagle ensign was also used on a hair pin in the Castellani display as one of the items in an 'ivory casket with all the jewels for the toilette of a Roman lady in ancient times'. Alessandro Castellani wrote to Henry Layard, the distinguished archaeologist and patron of contemporary decorative arts, in 1861 that he believed the casket 'will be much talked about'.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Gold |
| Brief description | Brooch in the form of a Roman imperial eagle, gold, Castellani, Italy, c. 1860 |
| Physical description | Brooch in the form of an eagle with outstretched wings, the body of the eagle set within a laurel wreath, gold, cast and chased. The feathers are depicted on both front and back in applied, twisted wire. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions | Applied monogram of two Cs, interlocking and back to back (Mark of Castellani. Applied on the back of the eagle's tail.) |
| Credit line | Given by the American Friends of the V&A through the generosity of Judith H. Siegel |
| Summary | This brooch by Castellani of Rome, the leading firm making jewellery in the archaeological style, is in the form of an ensign of a Roman legion. A similar brooch was shown by Castellani at the London International Exhibition in 1862 and was selected for illustration in Masterpieces of Industrial Art and Sculpture at the International Exhibition, 1862 (London, 1863, plate 212) by J. B. Waring. The eagle ensign was also used on a hair pin in the Castellani display as one of the items in an 'ivory casket with all the jewels for the toilette of a Roman lady in ancient times'. Alessandro Castellani wrote to Henry Layard, the distinguished archaeologist and patron of contemporary decorative arts, in 1861 that he believed the casket 'will be much talked about'. |
| Bibliographic reference | Soros, Susan Weber. ' "Under the great canopies of civilisation" ': Castellani jewelry and metalwork at international exhibitions'. In Susan Weber Soros and Stefanie Walker, eds, Castellani and Italian Archaeological Jewelry. Published for the Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture by Yale University. Press, New Haven and London, 2004. pp. 228-283 |
| Other number | LOAN:AMERICANFRIENDS.444-2007 - Previous loan number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.11-2011 |
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| Record created | April 29, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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