Gioielli Castellani della collezione Rothschild

With text by Mathieu Rousset-Perrier, Curator of Medieval, Renaissance and Goldsmith Collections, Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris

The exhibition 'Etruscan Treasures. The Castellani Collection between History and Fashion" (25 October 2023-3 March 2024), hosted by the Luigi Rovati Foundation, is enriched with a new exhibition nucleus: the collection of jewellery made by the Castellani family and donated by Baroness Charlotte de Rothschild to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. The ensemble constitutes an almost complete catalogue of the creations that made the Castellani family famous and includes brooches, pendants and necklaces, perfect examples of the archaeological jewellery fashion that became established in the second half of the 19th century, which also portray the singular personality of the owner, a leading figure in the Parisian and international artistic world. Born in 1825, Charlotte de Rothschild was the daughter of the progenitor of the French branch of the important collecting family. Gifted with an energetic temperament, the baroness had received a refined artistic education and showed unusual facets for a woman of her time: she was a collector, patron and painter at the same time. As evidence of her relationship with the Castellani family, her name appears both in the account books and in the registers of visitors to the house. Over the course of fifteen years, Charlotte de Rothschild brought together nineteen pieces representative of what Roman goldsmiths liked to call 'Italian archaeological jewellery': in the group are jewellery with Christian motifs, such as the fish and the peacock, inspired by the decorations of medieval Roman churches, but also a series of archaeologically inspired jewellery consisting of a scarab brooch, an Egyptian parure, a brooch depicting a griffin and a pair of earrings. 
For the first time, the Luigi Rovati Foundation is presenting two important collections together that show just how important Castellani's production was in the European 19th century.

The exhibition 'Castellani Jewellery from the Rothschild Collection' (13 December 2023-3 March 2024) is curated by Mathieu Rousset-Perrier, curator of the medieval, renaissance and gold collections at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris.

Bilingual edition Ita/Eng