317 - SET OF CAMEOS

SET OF CAMEOS Neo-Etruscan style — L. Barberi, Rome Gold jewelry set comprising a Neo-Etruscan clasp-back bracelet and a pendant brooch, each featuring a central onyx cameo depicting a bust of a woman in the classical style, in profile. The settings, in the Neo-Etruscan (so-called “archaeological”) style, are finely crafted using filigree, granulation, and twisted gold wires; the band of the bracelet is embellished with an enameled floral design. The brooch, designed as a pendant, is topped and finished with a rosette. The case bears the mark of L. Barberi, 97–99 Piazza di Spagna in Rome. 18-karat gold setting. Owl hallmark; no other hallmarks. L. Barberi belonged to the famous Barberi establishment at 99 Piazza di Spagna in Rome—a family of micromosaic artists that included Gioacchino Barberi (1783–1857), cited as early as 1847 by G. Moroni as one of the earliest masters of the genre, and his uncle, Cavaliere Michelangelo Barberi. Following in the footsteps of the Castellani family, these workshops supplied the cosmopolitan clientele of the Grand Tour with cameos, micromosaics, and Neo-Etruscan jewelry sets inspired by antiquity. Circa 1860–1880. Preserved in its case. Neo-Etruscan bracelet: inner diameter 4.5 × 5.5 cm — width 6 cm — Gross weight: 36.3 g. Brooch-pendant: height 5 cm — width 3.5 cm — Gross weight: 19 g. Bibliography: on the Barberi family, see J. Hanisee Gabriel, *The Gilbert Collection. Micromosaics*, London, 2000, pp. 281–282.