3-003-959 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Filigree ornaments at the Florence Exhibition - from a drawing by M. Mariani, 1861. 'This kind of jewellery is...called by the Italians filigrane...Most filigree articles are open, and in the guise of network, consisting of gilt or silvered wire worked tastefully over a form usually in tin. They are much worn by the Italian women, who are passionately fond of jewellery of every description...The large brooch is formed of three pieces, united by hinges; the uppermost is fastened on the breast, and the remainder reaches down to the waist...This brooch is of brass or other metal, covered with a coating of silver; the ornaments are imitations of precious stones. Eardrops of the form exhibited at Florence are very popular, particularly in the south of Italy, mostly with one silvered plate and stones; but not unfrequently the same model has three plates, with large imitation stones of the three colours symbolising Faith, Hope, and Charity. The elegant headdress, in silver and silver-gilt filigree...was sent to Florence by Signor Beretta Giacomo. It constitutes the most striking, as well as the most graceful, portion of the costume of the well-to-do peasants in the environs of Vercelli, one of the most prosperous districts of...Piedmont'. From "Illustrated London News", 1861.