Antonio Berini | Italian, 19th century | Cameo of a man, possibly of Prince Albert

The present cameo is of superb quality and is preserved in excellent condition. Compare with a similar cameo with a young man from the Hull Grandy collection in the British Museum, London (inv. no. 1978,1002.272).

Born in Rome, Antonio Berini (1770-1861) moved to Milan at a young age where he studied under Giovanni Pichler. He enjoyed the patronage of Count Capara and Count Giovanni Battista Sommariva. An outspoken anti-monarchist, Berini clashed with the Bonapartes when he was asked to carve a portrait of Napoleon, after he declared himself King of Italy in 1805; it was noticed in the cameo that along the emperor’s neck was an incision that looked suspiciously like blood. Because of this, the artist was imprisoned until the end of the coronation festivities. Although prolific during his lifetime, many of Berini’s works are now lost, or are known only through plaster casts or scagliola. Upon the death of Sommariva, 9 gems attributed to Berini were sold in Paris in 1839. A rock crystal intaglio portrait of Emperor Nicholas I from the late 1820s engraved by Berini is in the Hermitage, and a sardonyx cameo of Napoleon circa 1805 carved by Bernini (apparently without any political statement) is in the British Museum (inv. no. 1978/1002.998).