Lot 404 | A RARE GOLD ARCHEOLOGICAL REVIVAL NECKLACE BY GIACINTO MELILLO WITH TWELVE ROMAN GREEN CHALCEDONY INTAGLIOS AND PEARLS. VARIOUS SUBJECTS.

Bertolami Fine Art - Piazza Lovatelli 1, 00186 Roma

A RARE GOLD ARCHEOLOGICAL REVIVAL NECKLACE BY GIACINTO MELILLO WITH TWELVE ROMAN GREEN CHALCEDONY INTAGLIOS AND PEARLS. VARIOUS SUBJECTS.

A RARE GOLD ARCHEOLOGICAL REVIVAL NECKLACE BY GIACINTO MELILLO WITH TWELVE ROMAN GREEN CHALCEDONY INTAGLIOS AND PEARLS. VARIOUS SUBJECTS.

Stones: 2nd-3rd century A.D. Mounting: Second half of 19th century

400 mm circa; stone min. 6x9 mm max. 9x12 mm; 50,54 gr.

This precious necklace is composed of a serie of gold elements assembled on a large braided gold chain; 12 oval box-setting made of granules, braided and twisted gold wires decorated at the base with a small pearl. In each box-setting a roman green chalcedony intaglio. Each element is alternated by 4 gold spherical beads. From left to right the intaglios show: goat and tree; male bust facing left; young faunus playing the double flute in front of a column; Gryllos composed by a female bust conjoined with two silenos masks; a warrior; seated satyr near a tree; a running erote with a panther; a draped offerer; Venus Victrix; winged Nike; Fortuna Tyche; Venus with sea attributes. This model is a perfect example of the Revival Jewellery of the 19th century, assembling both ancient roman and modern elements. This model can be related to the Castellani Archaeological Revival necklace in the Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia in Rome (inv. 85013). The story of Giacinto Melillo (1846-1915) is intertwined with Alessandro Castellani's, when he put him under the direction of his first workshop in Naples in 1863. At this time, Melillo was only 18-19 years old and considered much more than an apprentice, more even than a normal employee: Augusto Castellani declared in 1878 that much of his brother’s jewellery was actually Melillo’s work .
A eulogy of the work of Giacinto Melillo was published in 1896 by a celebrated collector, count Michel Tyskiewicz. “Naples does not shine in the perfection of its pseudo-antique jewellery. The treatment is coarse, heavy, pretentious and often absurd. Yet Naples possesses a goldsmith of the first order in Mr Melillo, who has far surpassed the work of the Casa Castellani in Rome. Whilst Carlo Giuliano had already taken-over the London shop, Melillo then took-over the ownership of the Naples workshop in 1870, and he immediately started trading under his own name. Melillo in the 1870's was still producing unsigned Castellani-type jewels, that were sold through Alessandro Castellani.

An Archeological Revival necklace, Museo Etrusco di Villa Giulia, collection Castellani donated by Alfredo Castellani in 1919, inv. 8513. See also: Geoffrey Munn, "Giacinto Melillo: a pupil of Castellani", The Connoisseur, vol. 196 (1977), pp. 20-22; Geoffrey Munn, Les bijoutiers Castellani et Giuliano. Retour à l’antique au XIXe siècle, Fribourg 1983

Provenance: European collection, acquired on the market, early 2000's.