Sculptures> 1800 > Cameo with the image of Pope Pius IX (1792-1878), Torre del Greco, Naples, third quarter of the nineteenth century.
Cameo with the image of Pope Pius IX (1792-1878), Torre del Greco, Naples, third quarter of the nineteenth century.
Description:Cameo bearing the image of Pope Pius IX (Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti) who was born in Senigallia in 1792 and died in Rome in 1878 (pope from 1846 to 1878).
The cameo was made by etching a Cassis shell, composed of two distinct layers of color, allowing to isolate the figure in relief.
The cameos were usually produced in Torre del Greco, near Naples, and used mainly in jewelry. During the nineteenth century, the famous roman jeweler and goldsmith Castellani made a wide use of cameos.
In the State Archive of Rome, the 'Family Castellani' section (Reg. 86, n. 2001-2004) shows that, between 1848 and 1854, that jewelers family purchased a number of cameos carved with the image of Pius IX to be mounted on different types of jewelry.
The mahogany and gilted metal frame dates from the same period as the cameo itself.
Bibliography: 'Dall'Aspromonte a Porta Pia - Memorabilia dalle collezioni Carafa Jacobini, Ruffo di Calabria ed altre raccolte', exhibition catalog, Scilla and Ariccia 2011, Gangemi publisher, page. 73.
Age:Third quarter of the nineteenth century.
Dimensions:2x 1 3/4 inc.; witn frame 5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inc.
Price: € 550,00
Item n°: RC 109
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