Diadem thumbnail 1
Diadem thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Diadem

1860-1880 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This diadem is a copy made by the firm of Castellani of an Etruscan original of 300-200 BC, thought to have been found in Cumae and now in the Campana collection in the Louvre, Paris. This copy was acquired by the Museum from the collection of Alessandro Castellani in 1884.

There are at least four other known copies in public and private collections. One copy was shown at the International Exhibition in London in 1862 where the Castellani display attracted so much attention that a policeman had to be engaged to keep the crowds under control.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Gold, with glass beads, pearls and enamel
Brief description
'Cumae' diadem, Italy, about 1860-80; made by Castellani Gold, with pearls, glass beads and enamel
Physical description
Diadem. A reproduction of an antique original found in the Crimea. Gold, floral openwork combined with pearls and beads and enriched with enamel with a row of serrated leaves along the top of the back from which spring blue berries.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1.25in
  • Diameter: 7in
Style
Object history
Historical significance: Copy of an Etruscan original of 300-200 BC, thought to have been found in Cumae and now in the Campana collection in the Louvre, Paris. Acquired from the collection of Alessandro Castellani.
There is discussion of Cumae diadems in Soros (see references), including a list of other examples. There is one in the National Museum of Dublin, Ireland. One in the Villa Giulia, Rome. One in private hands has, since the Bard exhibition in 2004, entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum, New York. One in the collection of the Sataloff and Cluchey family is illustrated by Diana Scarisbrick, Tiara, San Francisco, 2000 (catalogue of an exhibition in the Museum of Fine Art, Boston), pp. 100-101.
Summary
This diadem is a copy made by the firm of Castellani of an Etruscan original of 300-200 BC, thought to have been found in Cumae and now in the Campana collection in the Louvre, Paris. This copy was acquired by the Museum from the collection of Alessandro Castellani in 1884.

There are at least four other known copies in public and private collections. One copy was shown at the International Exhibition in London in 1862 where the Castellani display attracted so much attention that a policeman had to be engaged to keep the crowds under control.
Bibliographic references
  • Soros, Susan Weber and Stefanie Walker, eds. Castellani and Italian Archaeological Jewelry. Published for the Bard Graduate Center, New York, by Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2004. No. 197.
  • Gaultier, Françoise and Catherine Metzger. Trésors antiques: Bijoux de la collection Campana. Paris: Musée du Louvre Éditions. Cat. no. II.102
Collection
Accession number
640-1884

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Record createdApril 19, 2006
Record URL
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