Necklace

This necklace is an important example of an archaelogical type of jewellery which is based on earlier nineteenth century protoypes, such as the Campana collection necklace in the Louvre, rather than original ancient models. The prototype necklaces may have been made or retailed by the Castellani family and consisted of authentic Etruscan carnelian scarabs strung with ancient gold beads. The varying dates of the components make it highly unlikely that an original scarab necklace ever existed or that such jewellery was worn before the nineteenth century. The Castellani firm, and other archaelogical jewellers, then made necklaces in the same style using genuine scarabs with contemporary gold beads.