ANTICHITÀ ALBERTO DI CASTRO

Dazzle On: Ancient Made Modern

Online Sale of The Gallery’s Ancient Jewels

From June 23, 2020

Empowering and romantic, Antichità Alberto Di Castro’s ancient jewels create a beautiful dialogue between the past and present; they were very fashionable at the time and still so modern today. 

Castellani and Giuliano Archaeological Revival brooches, 19th century giallone gold earrings and bracelets and a Pichler gem characterize the variety and quality of the jewels presented for the sale. They are a result of the Di Castro’s taste and love for ancient jewels, collected and studied in the years by Alberto, and published by his daughter Denise (The Castellani Jewelry Workshop. An Approach Under the Lens of Archival Material).

Photographer Ludovica Forcina, born in Los Angeles and raised in Rome, Italy, came to the gallery in Piazza di Spagna and photographed Alberto’s two daughters, Simonetta, Denise and Romana Mastrella, wearing the ancient jewels. Her photographs shed light on the jewel’s wearable and modern look.

Artworks need to convey emotions, move or connect with the viewer. In this period of world lockdown, we cannot travel to show our jewels in art fairs and exhibitions. Therefore, we experimented a new way of exhibiting them virtually, while still maintaining a personal touch.

Browse the catalogue and contact us for further information or HD photographs on +39 335420880 or info@dicastro.com, and dazzle on!

Alberto Di Castro AntichitàPiazza di Spagna 5 00187 Romahttps://www.dicastro.com | info@dicastro.com

albertodicastro antichitàalbertodicastro

mpowering and romantic, Antichità Alberto Di Castro’s ancient jewels create a beautiful dialogue between the past and present; they were very fashionable at the time and still so

Castellani and Giuliano Archaeological Revival brooches, 19th

century giallone gold earrings and bracelets and a Pichler gem characterize the variety and quality of the jewels presented for the sale. They are a result of the Di Castro’s taste and love for ancient jewels, collected and studied in the years by Alberto, and published by his daughter Denise (The Castellani Jewelry Workshop. An Approach Under the Lens of Archival Material).

Photographer Ludovica Forcina, born in Los Angeles and raised in Rome, Italy, came to the gallery in Piazza di Spagna and photographed Alberto’s two daughters, Simonetta, Denise and Romana Mastrella, wearing the ancient jewels. Her photographs shed light on the jewel’s wearable and modern

Artworks need to convey emotions, move or connect with the viewer. In this period of world lockdown, we cannot travel to show our jewels in art fairs and exhibitions. Therefore, we experimented a new way of exhibiting them virtually, while still maintaining a personal touch.

Browse the catalogue and contact us for further information or

albertodicastro antichitàalbertodicastro albertodicastro antichitàalbertodicastro

Dazzle On: Ancient Made Modern

Online Sale of the Gallery’s Ancient Jewels

From June 23, 2020

Luigi Pichler(Rome, 1773 –1854)

Diana

Agate intaglio, gold mount2.9 x 2.2 x 0.5 cm | 1 1/8 x 4/5 x 1/4 in Signed: Λ. ΠΙΧΛΕΡ

Bibliography:Incisori in pietra dura a piazza di Spagna, exhibition catalogue (Rome, Alberto e Alessandra Di Castro, Piazza di Spagna), edited by L. Pirzio Biroli Stefanelli with F. Leone, Florence 2009, a.h.v.

Euro 15,000.00No. 1 Euro 10,000.00

No. 2

Yellow Jasper Ceres Brooch

Rome, second half 19th centuryYellow jasper portraying Ceres, gold mounting with � ligree decorations2.3 cm | 9/10 in

Bibliography:Di Castro, D., The Castellani Jewelry Workshop. An Approach Under the Lens of Archival Material, Anzio (Rm), 2019, pp. 29-30, � g. 29.

Euro 10,000.00 No. 2

Floral Composition Bracelet

Florence, second half 19th centuryGold, hardstone commessoMedallions: 3 x 2.5 cm | 1 1/5 x 1 inBracelet: 17 (l) x 3.5 cm | 6 2/3 (l) x 1 1/3 in

Euro 9,500.00No. 3

Eros Brooch

Rome, second half 19th centuryGold brooch, ribbon � ligree decorations, Greek inscription: EPΩΣ (Eros) 4 (diam.) cm | 1 1/2 (diam.) in

Euro 11,000.00No. 4

Euro 12,000.00No. 5

Cesare Tombini(Goldsmith active in Rome in the second half of the 19th century)

Pair of Etruscan Revival bracelets

Rome, second half 19th centurySemi-rigid gold with � ligree decorationsWith the original box6 x 5.5 cm | 2 1/2 x 2 in

Euro 12,000.00No. 5

Etruscan Revival Bracelet with Filigree Patterns

Rome, second half 19th centurySemi-rigid gold, � ligree decorations5 x 6 cm | 2 x 2 1/3 in

Bibliography:Di Castro, D., The Castellani Jewelry Workshop. An Approach Under the Lens of Archival Material, Anzio (Rome), 2019, pp. 29-30, � g. 28.

Euro 7,000.00No. 6

Etruscan Revival Bracelet with Filigree Decorations

Rome, second half 19th centurySemi-rigid gold, � ligree decorations6.5 x 5.5 cm | 2 1/3 x 2 in

Euro 5,000.00No. 7

The Castellani

Etruscan Revival Sun� ower Brooch

Rome, second half 19th centuryGold, concentric � ligree framing3.1 (diam.) cm | 1 1/5 (diam.) inSigned Castellani, with conjoined CC mark, on the reverse

Bibliography:Di Castro, D., The Castellani Jewelry Workshop. An Approach Under the Lens of Archival Material, Anzio (Rome), 2019, pp. 13,30, 41, � g. 47.

Euro 19,000.00No. 8

Euro 5,000.00No. 9

Pepita d’Oro Brooch

South Africa, 1885 – 1890 circaSmall nugget of gold mounted as brooch4 (l) cm | 1 1/2 (l) in

Provenance: Formerly Private Collection of Charl Marais, born in South Africa in 1862; Private Collection, England.

Euro 5,000.00No. 9

The Castellani

Male and Female Pro� le Brooch

Rome, second half 19th centuryGranite intaglio, gold mount3.3 (l) cm | 1 1/3 (l) inSigned Castellani, with conjoined CC mark, on the reverse

Bibliography:Di Castro, D., The Castellani Jewelry Workshop. An Approach Under the Lens of Archival Material, Anzio (Rome), 2019, p. 12, � g. 4.

Euro 18,000.00No. 10

The Castellani

Sun� ower Brooch

Rome, second half 19th centuryGold, � ligree and granulation decorations3.7 (diam.) cm | 1 1/2 (diam.) inSigned Castellani, with conjoined CC mark, on the reverse

Bibliography:Di Castro, D., The Castellani Jewelry Workshop. An Approach Under the Lens of Archival Material, Anzio (Rome), 2019, pp. 41-42, � g. 47.

Euro 19,000.00No. 11

Euro 14,000.00No. 12

Nicola (Niccolò) Morelli(Rome, 1779 – 1838)

Winged cupid on a chariot pulled by bulls

Rome, 1810 circaSardonyx cameo, gold mounted brooch with volutes and scrolling rinceaux 3.2 x 4.5 x 0.8 cm | 1 1/4 x 1 3/4 x 1/3 inSigned, lower centre: N. Morelli

Exhibition: Museo del Gioiello, Vicenza, December 2016 – December 2018.

Euro 14,000.00No. 12

Carlo and Arturo Giuliano

Sta� of Mercury

London, second half 19th centuryGold and enamel, decorated with seed pearl � nial3 x 1.8 cm | 1 1/5 x 2/3 in

Euro 14,000.00No. 13

Carlo and Arturo Giuliano

Sta� of Mercury

London, second half 19th centuryGold and enamel, decorated with seed pearl � nial3 x 1.8 cm | 1 1/5 x 2/3 in

Pope Urban VIII Gold Pendant

Coin – 1637-1639; Mounting – 1870 circa, RomeGold, revolving, clipped quadruple coin of Pope Urban VIII (Barberini) (1623 – 1644), Avignon mintCoin: 3 (diam.) cm | 1 1/5 (diam.) inFiligree decorated mount: 4 (diam.) cm | 1 1/2 (diam.) in

Bibliography:Di Castro, D., The Castellani Jewelry Workshop. An Approach Under the Lens of Archival Material, Anzio (Rome), 2019, pp. 51-52, � g. 71.

Euro 12,000.00No. 14

Gaspare Capparoni(Rome, 1761-1808)

Ceres

Rome, late 18th centuryThree-layered sardonyx cameo pendant, gold mounting 3.2 x 3.0 cm | 1 1/4 x 1 1/8 inSigned in Greek: “KAΠ”

Bibliography:Incisori in pietra dura a piazza di Spagna, exhibition catalogue (Rome, Alberto e Alessandra Di Castro, Piazza di Spagna), edited by L. Pirzio Biroli Stefanelli with F. Leone, Florence 2009, a.h.v.

Euro 14,000.00No. 15

Micromosaic Demi-parure

Rome, second half 19th centuryPaste vitree with animals and � owers in micromosaic, gold mountWith the original box39.5 cm; 15 1/2 in earrings 7 cm | 2 3/4 inbrooch3.3 x 4. 2 cm; 1 1/3 x 1 2/3 in

Euro 22,000.00No. 16

Euro 7,000.00No. 17

Archaeological Revival Fringed Earrings

Rome, second half 19th centuryGold, � ligree decorations, fringe � nials 4.5 cm | 1 3/4 in

Euro 7,000.00No. 17

Lion Attacking a Bull Brooch

Rome, second half 19th centuryAntique niccolo gem intaglio, gold mount with � ligree decorations2.7 cm | 1 in

Bibliography:Di Castro, D., The Castellani Jewelry Workshop. An Approach Under the Lens of Archival Material, Anzio (Rome), 2019, pp. 29-30, � g. 30.

Euro 9,000.00No. 18

Ribboned Archaeological Revival Pendant Earrings

Rome, second half 19th centuryGold, � ligree and granulation decorations3.3 (l) cm | 1 1/3 (l) in

Bibliography:Di Castro, D., The Castellani Jewelry Workshop. An Approach Under the Lens of Archival Material, Anzio (Rome), 2019, pp. 30, 32, � g. 31.

Euro 6,500.00No. 19

Euro 15,000.00No. 20

Cornucopia Earrings

Rome, second half 19th centuryGold, granulation decorations2.6 x 3 cm | 1 x 1 1/5 in

Euro 15,000.00No. 20

Micromosaic Flower Brooch with Pendants

Rome, second half 19th centuryGold with micromosaic � oral compositionWith the original box4 x 3 cm | 1 3/5 x 1 1/5 in

Euro 6,500.00No. 21

Euro 12,000.00No. 22

The Castellani

Pendant with Christ’s Monogram – Chi (X) Ro (P)

Rome, second half 19th centuryGlass micromosaic, gold mounted with � ligree decorations3 (diam.) cm | 1 1/5 (diam.) inSigned Castellani, with conjoined CC mark, on the reverse

Bibliography:Di Castro, D., The Castellani Jewelry Workshop. An Approach Under the Lens of Archival Material, Anzio (Rome), 2019, pp. 10, 32, � g. 2

Euro 12,000.00No. 22

Venere Medicea

Early 19th centuryShell cameo mounted on slate3 (diam.) cm | 1 1/6 (diam.) in

Euro 3,500.00No. 23

Sea monster

Rome, 16th centuryOval cameo in chalcedony, gold mount4 x 2.9 cm | 1 3/5 x 1 1/8 in

Euro 14,000.00No. 24

Greek Revival Necklace

Rome, second half 19th centuryGold, 47 amphora-shaped pendants and � ligree rosettes 40 (l) cm | 15 3/4 (l) in

Bibliography:Di Castro, D., The Castellani Jewelry Workshop. An Approach Under the Lens of Archival Material, Anzio (Rome), 2019, pp. 26-27, � g. 24

No. 25

Beetle Brooch

Rome, 1870Glass micromosaic, gold mounted with � ligree decorations4 (diam.) cm | 1 ½ (diam.) in

Euro 6.000,00No. 26

Inventors, historians, and antiquarians, three generations ofCastellani goldsmith jewelers also studied the history, mate-rials and techniques of ancient gold craftsmanship. Through-out the nineteenth century, they revived and invented goldworking techniques, diffusing the taste for revival jewelry inItaly and abroad.

Specific aspects of the workshop are revealed througharchival documents held in the Archivio di Stato di Roma andthe Archivio Franchi Argentieri. Among these, Augusto Castel-lani’s (1829-1914) 516 page handwritten descriptive inventoryof his antiquities collection, “Collezione Storica d’OreficeriaItaliana,” entirely transcribed for this publication, brings tolight interesting ties between his recorded descriptions andjewels portrayed in Neoclassical works of art. It also providesinformation regarding the discovery of ancient techniques andhighlights what Augusto noted when describing antiquitiesfrom the point of a scholar and expressing his opinion as anantiquarian.

This study introduces original images and material regardingthe Castellani and their influence on goldsmithing history, un-derlining the workshop’s creation of a new international fash-ion known as Archaeological Revival Jewelry.

Denise Di Castro was born in New York in 1997 and graduatedfrom John Cabot University of Rome. 

She wrote her thesis on the Castellani, which was the firststep towards this publication. 

Currently, she is studying Baroque Classicism at the CourtauldInstitute of Art.

Front cover: Portrait of a Woman, Fayum Portrait, oil on wood, 110-130 AD.© National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh. (see figure 99).

Dorso: The Castellani, Sunflower Brooch, gold, second half 19th century, 37cm diameter, signed with conjoined “CC” monogram. Alberto Di Castro, Rome,© Arte Fotografica. (see figure 48)

ANTICHITÀ ALBERTO DI CASTRO

Piazza di Spagna 5Romahttps://www.dicastro.com info@dicastro.comT. +39 066792269 | +39 335420880 albertodicastro

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