Category:Castellani family

English: Castellani family, three generations of Italian goldsmiths, collectors, and ceramicists, active 19th-20th centuries in Rome who created and sustained the so-called style of Italian archaeological jewelry. Fortunato Pio Castellani (1793-1865) opened his workshop in 1814, and the firm quickly became known for designing fashionable jewelry in imitation of contemporary French and English work. In the 1830s, Fortunato Pio became inspired by the ancient jewelry and metalwork being unearthed at such archaeological sites in Italy as the Etruscan Regolini Galassi Tomb (1836). Encouraged by his friend and patron, Duke Michelangelo Caetani (1804–82), Castellani became the first 19th-century goldsmith to create works closely modeled after classical Italian and Greek prototypes, thus creating a new fashion trend. In the 1850s, Fortunato Pio’s two sons, Alessandro Castellani (1824–83) and Augusto Castellani (1829–1914) gradually assumed management of the firm and marketed their archaeological jewelry with great success, not only to the local and international aristocracy but also to educated tourists and artists visiting Rome. In the 1860s, Alessandro Castellani opened subsidiary shops in London and Paris and founded his own workshop in Naples. For the first time, the firm also displayed its work at international expositions in Florence, London, and Paris. The widespread acclaim for the pieces increased demand for this style of jewelry and gave rise to imitators throughout Europe. Americans first viewed the Castellani’s ancient objects and reproductions in 1876, at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The following year the much-praised collection was on view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. After Augusto and Alessandro, the Castellani firm was run by Augusto's son Alfredo Castellani till 1927, then it faded.