AN ITALIAN GOLD-MOUNTED MICROMOSAIC BROOCH

The founder of Castellani, Fortunato Pio Castellani, first opened his shop in Rome in 1814. In 1826, he met his lifelong friend and collaborator Michaelangelo Caetani and their company became the most original and prolific producer of jewellery in the 'archaeological' style, so called because most of their work was based on actual Etruscan, Greek or Roman jewellery. This followed the excavation of Etruscan tombs in the area around Rome in the 1830s.