An etruscan carnelian scarab, mounted in a gold bracelet by Giacinto Melillo. Centaur, armed with two swords. Engraved employing two globular elements. Polished. 4th - 3rd century B.C. The gold bracelet, still in its original box, was created by Giacinto Melillo (1846 - 1915) in neo-etruscan style (presumably Naples, 1870 - 1890 circa). The refined manufacturing includes parts in filigree-dotted pattern, and shows elegant vegetal ornament. The jewel is perfectly preserved. For comparisons, and in order to go deeper into the rich production by Giacinto Melillo and his relation with the Castellanis: Charlotte Gere et al., The Art of the jeweller. A catalogue of the Hull Grundy gift to the British Museum, London 1984; Lucia Pirzio Biroli Stefanelli, “Les bijoux aux scarabées des Castellani. Commerce de scarabées antiques, production de scarabées modernes”, in Françoise Gaultier & Catherine Metzger, Les Bijoux de la collection Campana. De l’antique au pastiche, Paris 2007, pp. 101-111; Geoffrey Munn, "Giacinto Melillo: a pupil of Castellani", The Connoisseur, vol. 196 (1977), pp. 20-22; Gertrud Platz-Horster & Hans-Ulrich Tietz, "Etruskische Skarabäen-Kolliers. Mit einem Exkurs über die Granulation bei den Etruskern", Jahrbuch der Berliner Museen, vol. 35 (1993), pp. 7-45; Gertrud Platz-Horster, “L’orfèvrerie étrusque et ses imitations au XIXe siècle”, in Françoise Gaultier & Catherine Metzger, Les Bijoux de la collection Campana. De l’antique au pastiche, Paris 2007, pp. 91-99.
Intaglio 12 x 17 x 8 mm; bracelet diam. 49 x 55 mm; gr. 24,05.