Antique Bracelet Made of Four Rows of Mediterranean Coral, c. 1900

This bracelet consists of four strands of antique Italian coral. The beads are hand-cut; they are not always perfectly round, but they are of a particularly beautiful colour. The handcrafted workmanship and the original clasp—featuring four additional beautiful coral beads—both attest to the fact that this piece of jewellery was created around the turn of the 19th century. The beads possess a wonderfully warm salmon hue, characteristic of what is known as Sciacca coral. Unlike freshly harvested Mediterranean coral, Sciacca coral does not come from living colonies, but from ancient coral reefs that have accumulated on the seabed over many centuries. A defining feature is its play of colours, ranging from delicate salmon and peach tones to vibrant orange, thus distinguishing it from the deep red of freshly harvested coral. The discovery of these deposits sparked a veritable coral craze in the late 19th century and led to immense production of coral jewelry, particularly in the workshops of the port city of Torre del Greco in the Bay of Naples. By the early 20th century, however, the Sciacca coral deposits had been completely depleted, so that today it can only be found in antique pieces of jewellery. This beautiful bracelet found its way to us here in Berlin.

Estimate:$658.23

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