Archaeological-revival 'Bacchus' pendant, attributed to Castellani, circa 1870

Castellani and Giuliano, Revivalist Jewellers of the Nineteenth Century, Wartski, London, March 1984, no. 60.

Castellani and Italian Archaeological Jewelry, The Bard Graduate Center, New York, November 2004-February 2005, p. 64, fig. 2-58. Also exhibited at Somerset House, London, May -September 2005 and Villa Giulia, Rome, November 2005-February 2006.

The prototype for the pendant offered here is an Etruscan fifth century B.C. gold pendant in the form of Achelous, the river god, found at Chiusi, from the famous Campana Collection. Now in the Musée de Louvre, Paris, the superb quality of the filigree and granulation on the Achelous pendant made it an inspiration for all 19th century jewelers working in the Revivalist style. For an illustration of the Achelous pendant as well as versions by Castellani and Giuliano, see Munn, Castellani and Giuliano, pl. 83, 84 and 86. 

Castellani's version of the Achelous pendant as well as the original one from the Campana Collection are also found in the catalogue  Castellani and Italian Archaelogical Jewelry, The Bard Graduate Center, p. 216-217, fig. 8-25 and 8-28.

See also Trésors Antiques, Bijoux de la Collection Campana, Musée du Louvre Éditions,  p. 61, fig. 5-18, for an illustration of the original pendant.