The Castellani family themselves built up a distinguished collection of ancient jewellery, used as inspiration for their work. The border of the brooch very closely follows that of an eighth-century brooch from southern Italy in the Castellani Collection, which the family sold to The British Museum in 1865.

Miniature glass mosaics have been made in Rome since the 1770s, but the Castellani firm were the first to combine 'archaeological' jewels with mosaics from the Early Christian and Byzantine churches of Rome: the design of the Lamb is based on the large-scale mosaic in the apse of the Church of Saints Cosmas and Damian in Rome.

место:
Room 47: Europe 1800-1900

Смальта.