Castellani & Giuliano: The Judith H. Siegel Collection

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Lot 55
  • 55

Byzantine-revival gold and micromosaic 'Hand of God' brooch, Castellani, circa 1860

Estimate
12,000 - 15,000 USD
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Description

  • Castellani
The micromosaic depicting a hand holding a circle patterned with a stylized garland of leaves, within a gold wirework border, signed with interlaced C's. and French import mark. 

Provenance

Beaussant Lefèvre, May 29, 2002, lot 23.

Exhibited

Castellani and Italian Archaeological Jewelry, The Bard Graduate Center, New York, November 2004-February 2005, p. 48, fig. 2-30. Also exhibited at Somerset House, London, May -September 2005 and Villa Giulia, Rome, November 2005-February 2006.

Catalogue Note

The design for this micromosaic purportedly derives from a 7th Century mosaic representing the Hand of God at Sant' Agnese in Rome. 

A similar brooch is illustrated by Munn,  Castellani and Giuliano, color pl. 56. Another similar presently in the Museum für Angewandte Kunst, in Cologne, is illustrated in the exhibition catalogue Castellani and Italian Archaeological Jewelry, The Bard Graduate Center, p. 159, fig. 6-12.