A LATE 19TH CENTURY CULTURED PEARL, CHALCEDONY AND ENAMEL PENDANT, CIRCA 1880Of quatrefoil design, centring a rectangular-shaped blue chalcedony, corners highlighted by foliate motifs, between red guilloché enamel scalloped quarters, within a twisted-wire frame highlighted with button-shaped and drilled cultured pearls, suspending a baroque-shaped cultured pearl, reverse applied with blue and red champlevé enamel spelling out ‘Ceciliæ, Cecilia, Tibiq and Raphel’, mounted in 18K gold, length 7.7cm During the 19th century, a growing fascination with the past sparked a revival of historical styles across Europe, most notably a resurgence of 15th- and 16th-century-inspired jewellery that celebrated the richness and artistry of the Renaissance. The opulence, vibrant colours, and ornate designs once favoured by the Tudor court and European aristocracy returned to prominence in the mid to late 1800s, in a period known as the Renaissance Revival. This movement was fuelled by jewellers who found inspiration in the exquisite pieces portrayed in Renaissance-era portraits, so much so that the term "Holbeinesque jewellery" emerged to describe these revivalist designs. The 19th century pendant in this auction can be closely compared to a pendant worn by Saint Cecilia in Raphael’s ‘La Sacra Conversazione’. Painted c.1514 by the young master Raphael, La Sacra Conversazione, also known as The Ecstasy of Saint Cecilia, was commissioned by the Bolognese noblewoman Elena Duglioli dall’Olio for the chapel dedicated to the saint in the church of San Giovanni in Monte, Bologna. The revival of this pendant’s design was led by the influential arts and crafts society Aemilia Ars, founded in Bologna in 1898 by Count Francesco Cavazza in collaboration with designer Rubbiani. The designs created by Rubbiani, including that of the St Cecilia pendant, were donated to the Museo della Tappezzeria in Bologna by the Cavazza family in 1994. Known for their patronage of Aemilia Ars, the Cavazza family played a key role in reintroducing historical artistic motifs to a contemporary audience. Marked with the annotation “Grandezza al vero” (actual size), the pendant came with a handwritten list from Rubbiani noting that it was copied from a Raphael painting and was later acquired by prominent figures such as Queen Margherita of Savoy, Queen Elena of Savoy, Princess Corsini, and the Princess of Essling. The design gained public attention when a pendant identical to the one featured in Raphael’s painting was displayed at the 1902 International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Turin, highlighting its significance as an emblem of historical revivalism. While the design of the Saint Cecilia pendant was driven by Aemilia Ars and Rubbiani, the production is closely linked to the history of the Marchi family. Initially managed by Luigi Marchi alongside his son Raffaele Angelo from 1891 until Luigi’s retirement in 1894, the goldsmith firm was subsequently led by Raffaele Angelo alone, who was responsible for producing the Aemilia Ars pieces, including the St Cecilia pendant. Unlike some contemporaries who attempted to pass off their intricate reproductions as genuine Renaissance artifacts, the Marchi brothers were upfront about their work being modern creations inspired by historical designs. Over time, variations of the reproduced St. Cecilia have emerged, with differences in colour, materials, and detailing; including one version that sold at Christie’s in 1995 that featured a grey-green chalcedony at its centre. Another similar pendant held by the British Museum displays a deliberate colour reversal: where the original design presents a red central chalcedony, the museum’s version features a blue-stained stone, with the enamelled lobes of the quatrefoil rendered in red instead of blue. It is worth noting, across different examples of the reproduced pendant design, subtle differences can be seen in the inscriptions and decorative details; while the British Museum pendant is inscribed “RAPHAEL CAECILIAE CAECILIA TIBI:QV,” another version omits a letter in “Raphael,” streamlines “Caeciliae,” and leaves off the final “V,” along with variations in the reverse orientation and the thickness of the palmette motifs above the text. Condition Report: Areas of green tarnish commensurate with agePearls with some signs of wear, typical surface features visible and one pearl with some surface fractures to mother-of-pearl nacreMetal unmarked, tested by the jewellery department to be 18K goldNormal signs of wear commensurate with age, overall in good conditionTotal gross weight approx. 25g
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