3/30/2021 0 Comments Egyptian Revival Era
The Mexican campaign resulted in a fad for bejeweled hummingbirds set as brooches and hair ornaments.Suddenly they had their own money, and a change in the laws c.1870 allowed them to keep what they earned.Womens fashion was undergoing a radical transition and enormous crinolines expanded to ridiculous proportions and restrictive corsets resulted in expanding dcolletages.Womens earlobes re-emerged with a new backswept hairstyle that sent curls cascading down the neck.
A passion for ancient history fueled by archaeological discoveries and written accounts of the exploits of ancient civilizations made this period ripe for revivals of ancient jewelry styles. In France, the Second Empire, led by Napolon III and his Empress Eugnie, was influencing fashion with a revival of an elaborate, courtly lifestyle. Eugenies passion for emeralds caused a sensation in France making them almost as desirable as diamonds. Tiaras were suddenly a jewelry wardrobe requirement and Eugnie favored elaborate scrollwork with diamond and emerald drops. They are also credited with the revival of the cameo industry as Napolon led the way with his passion for collecting. The revival of jewelry styles from the Renaissance and Middle Ages, begun in the 1850s, continued. Working in the neo-Renaissance style throughout this period was Carlo Giuliano. He embraced the Renaissance aesthetic and adapted its designs to suit the Victorian woman. His popular lozenge-shaped pendant set with pearls, gemstones, and enamel were suspended from multi-strand seed pearl necklaces. As a result of the work on the Suez Canal in the mid-1860s and the Egyptian excavations of Auguste Mariette and the resultant exhibit of Egyptian treasures at the Exposition Universelle in 1867, a fascination for all things Egyptian developed. Giuliano embraced this wealth of new motifs from the ancient world with his use of scarabs and other Egyptian symbols. ![]() The Renaissance and Egyptian revivals were joined by a classical revival of Greek and Etruscan styles. An avid search was made for the secret of Etruscan granulation with jeweler Fortunato Pio Castellani claiming to have found the answer in a remote area of the Apennines. Using his granulation skills and other ancient jewelry techniques, he went on to produce many amazing replicas of the jewels discovered in the excavations of these ancient Greek civilizations. In 1858 Fortunato Pios son Augusto continued to reproduce Greek and Etruscan jewelry along with Renaissance and Scandinavian jewelry. The jewelry enhancement techniques of engraving and chasing were replaced by the revival of ancient techniques to create matte and shiny surfaces, depth and relief were provided by corded wire, filigree, and granulation. Greek and Roman coins were also featured, set prominently in these archaeological jewels. Castellanis work spread through Europe and the style was adopted most famously by Fontenay in France, John Brogden and Robert Phillips in London and by Carlo Giuliano, originally from Naples, now settled in London. Castellani Victorian Etruscan Revival Disk Form Earrings with Granulation and Wirework Decoration. The French expedition to China introduced the West to the use of jade in jewelry.
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