Virgin of the Goldfinch – Luigi Saulini (1819–1883)

Shell cameo – signed L. SAVLINI F lower right.

A true masterpiece by the celebrated cameo engraver Luigi Saulini, this representation of the Virgin with the Christ Child and Saint John the Baptist is treated with great delicacy. John the Baptist holds a bird in his hands, a goldfinch, symbolically announcing the future sacrifice of Christ: the thorny thistle on which it feeds evokes the Crown of Thorns, while its red feathered mask refers to the blood shed.

After gaining great renown through several participations in the Universal Exhibitions, the Saulini workshop — Tommaso (1793–1864) and his adopted son Luigi — became one of the most fashionable destinations in 19th century Rome. Wealthy European and American travelers, aristocrats, and industrialists undertaking the Grand Tour flocked there to commission shell or semi-precious stone cameos.

While Tommaso created a sardonyx cameo depicting Tsar Nicholas I, preserved in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Luigi received a commission from the British Crown to produce the profiles of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.

Recognized as true tastemakers of their age, the Saulini contributed to maintaining interest in the cameo as an ornament of jewelry and fashion. Their works are now preserved in the greatest museums in the world: the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum in London, the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, and the Hillwood Museum in Washington.

Height: 6.5 cm

Bibliography:

* Micaela Dickman de Petra, Francesca Barberini, *Tommaso e Luigi Saulini. Incisori di cammei nella Roma dell’Ottocento*, Gangemi Editore, 2006
* Micaela Dickman, Francesca Barberini, *Ritratti dallo «studjo». Saulini al Museo di Roma*, Gangemi Editore, 2023