CASTELLANI

Attributed to

Brooch of exceptional workmanship, designed in the form of a Greek cross and mounted in finely crafted gold with twisted ropework borders. The composition is formed of five square panels and four circular elements arranged between the arms of the cross, each likewise framed by twisted gold wire.
The front surfaces are entirely decorated with an exceptionally fine micromosaic composed of minute turquoise-blue glass tesserae, within which delicate metallic fillets outline the Greek letters Ι – Χ – Θ – Υ – Σ (Ichthys), the celebrated early Christian acrostic for Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς Θεοῦ Υἱὸς Σωτήρ ("Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour").
The arrangement of the letters across the arms of the cross constitutes an iconographic solution of remarkable elegance, directly inspired by Early Christian and Byzantine artistic traditions, which were extensively studied and reinterpreted by the Roman archaeological revival jewellers of the second half of the nineteenth century.
The reverse displays construction of outstanding quality, each individual element being separately finished and decorated with finely engraved geometric motifs.

The small raised monogram on the reverse, although no longer perfectly legible owing to wear, appears compatible with the intertwined double-C mark traditionally associated with the Castellani workshop.
The exceptional quality of execution, the refined micromosaic technique, the use of the ΙΧΘΥΣ acrostic, the Greek-cross design, and the close stylistic comparisons with examples preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum strongly support an attribution to the celebrated Roman Castellani workshop, or to its immediate artistic circle.
From both a stylistic and technical standpoint, the present brooch finds particularly close parallels with Roman micromosaic jewels in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the British Museum, which share the same use of Greek inscriptions, Early Christian iconography, twisted ropework borders and highly accomplished mosaic workmanship. Castellani's production is renowned for its sophisticated reinterpretation of Etruscan, Roman, Byzantine and Medieval goldsmiths' work, achieved through collaboration with the finest Roman mosaicists, among them Luigi Podio.

The ΙΧΘΥΣ acrostic, one of the earliest and most significant symbols of Christianity, represents a subject of exceptional historical and cultural importance. Its appearance in nineteenth-century jewellery is exceedingly rare and is entirely consistent with the iconographic repertoire cultivated by the Castellani workshop.

Dimensions: 3 × 3 cm. Weight: 15 g.