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BERNARDO ANTICHITA'

At the end of the nineteenth century the family settled in Florence where it opened the prestigious shop on the Ponte Vecchio, where you could find collections of jewels and selected high-level art objects. Adolfo Melli , Caterina’s great-grandfather, continued the business by developing and maintaining relations with foreign countries, to the point of making the company a point of reference also for the royal families of Europe, whose testimonies are still preserved today. Our shop, still a privileged destination for a refined clientele, passed to Gustavo Melli , Caterina’s grandfather, and it was he who passed on his knowledge to his nephews and introduced them into the world of antiques. Today Caterina Pasquinucci and her husband Fabio Bernardo with her son Duccio continue the family tradition and continue the activity in the historic shop on Ponte Vecchio, at n.44r.

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INSTAGRAM

  • Archaeological Revival Gold And Lily of the Valley Micromosaic Brooch/Pendant 1860’s #bernardo 18kt gold micromosaic-pendant, approx. 1860, circumferential wine leaves, centered oval micro mosaic on black ground, lily of the valley presentation, also wearable as a brooch, lug removable. Weight: 17.4 g Lenght: 7cm
  • 18th Century Gimmel Fede Gold Ring, Italian 1790’s #bernardo Romance and love are conveyed to the fullest in this sumptuous ring composed of symbolically rich elements: Fede hands, connected bands and hearth. Each element of this ring expresses love and affection, as well as the union of marriage. The clasped hands or ‘mani in fede’, is a motif derived from the Roman ritual of the joining of the right hands during the betrothal ceremony known as dextrarum iunctio. Messages of romantic love on jewelry, and mottoes or inscriptions on plain gold bands go back to the Middle Ages. Beginning in the thirteenth century, ring brooches and rings were given as love tokens and the language of love was expressed in words and amatory motifs. Each element of this ring expresses love and affection, as well as the union of marriage. The clasped hands or ‘mani in fede’ (Italian term for hands in faith), is a motif derived from the Roman ritual of the joining of the right hands during the betrothal ceremony known as dextrarum iunctio. The right hand was considered to be sacred to Fides, the goddess of trust and good faith. The clasped hands as a symbol of love and marriage has continued in both the ceremony and rings through the centuries
  • A Late 18th Century Gold Mounted “Lover’s Eye” Miniature Brooch #bernardo The rectangular brooch centred with a glazed compartment depicting a painted miniature of a lady’s eye, frame with rocailles, approx. 3.5 x 2.8 cm, approx. 11.5 g One curious type of miniature was the “Lover’s Eye”, a subgenre of jewelry that was very popular during the Georgian era. For centuries, small personal portraits of a loved one had been common adornments in the costume of the time, but representations of that person’s eyes were something truly new. Wealthy people wore these charms on everything from rings to brooches to, of course, pendants. Lover’s eyes, often set in ivory plaques, were graceful and discreet. Presumably, only the wearer and the sitter knew the identity of the depicted lover, making the experience totally intimate and mysterious. The Prince of Wales is said to have given his wife, Mary Fitzherbert, a miniature of his right eye, they later separated, but when he died in 1830, they discovered that he was wearing a necklace with a padlock pendant near his heart with Fitzherbert’s eye inside. The places on the body where people wore them (on the wrist or near the heart) created a tactile and emotional connection that reflected the sentimental closeness between the subject and the wearer.
  • Pectoral Gold Pendant from Castellani with a Cameo Attributed to Luigi Saulini (1819-1883) Showing Pope Pio IX’s Effegy #bernardo Pendente in oro inciso e in filigrana attribuito a Castellani, con al centro un cammeo in agata raffigurante Sua Santità Papa Pio IX, circondato da una fila di pietre incolore e ghirlande stilizzate a rilievo, reca sul retro inciso lo stemma della famiglia Mastai Ferretti a cui apparteneva sua Santità, mm 90X68, gr 105. Corredato di cartiglio in cui viene riportato come segue: “regalato da S. Santità Pio IX alla Contessa Giulia Guicciardini Pucci, nell’occasione della sosta che fece Santità Sua il 18 Agosto 1857 nella Villa Guicciardini a Montughi.” L’angelico Pio IX è finalmente in mezzo a noi, fra le mura della bella Firenze, e nella capitale della gentile Toscana. Chi non sente il cuore inondato di gioia, l’animo ripieno di ineffabile contentezza al faustissimo avvenimento? O giorno felice in cui è dato di potere ammirare ed ossequiare il venerando Pontefice”.” Così le cronache del tempo annunciavano la visita di Papa Pio IX a Firenze durante l’estate del 1857. Testimonianze storiche confermano che Il 18 Agosto di quell’anno verso mezzogiorno e un quarto il corteo papale giunse a Villa Guicciardini, presso “La Pietra”, a Montughi, alle porte di Firenze. Dopo un breve riposo Pio IX pranzò con il Granduca di toscana e gli Arciduchi, col suo seguito di nobili signori. Nelle memorie della Contessa Giulia Pucci Guicciardini, conservate nell’archivio storico Guicciardini di Poppiano (Montespertoli, Firenze), risulta che durante la sua visita presso il Castello di Poppiano, Sua Santità Papa Pio IX abbia lasciato un medaglione con pietre dure e preziose, insieme alla brocca e al bacile utilizzati per la messa (purtroppo trafugati dal palazzo di famiglia del Lungarno nel 1944, dove si conservava anche la poltrona in velluto rosso usata dal pontefice). Please Note : the object is not available for export outside Italy.

INSTAGRAM

  • Archaeological Revival Gold And Lily of the Valley Micromosaic Brooch/Pendant 1860’s #bernardo 18kt gold micromosaic-pendant, approx. 1860, circumferential wine leaves, centered oval micro mosaic on black ground, lily of the valley presentation, also wearable as a brooch, lug removable. Weight: 17.4 g Lenght: 7cm
  • 18th Century Gimmel Fede Gold Ring, Italian 1790’s #bernardo Romance and love are conveyed to the fullest in this sumptuous ring composed of symbolically rich elements: Fede hands, connected bands and hearth. Each element of this ring expresses love and affection, as well as the union of marriage. The clasped hands or ‘mani in fede’, is a motif derived from the Roman ritual of the joining of the right hands during the betrothal ceremony known as dextrarum iunctio. Messages of romantic love on jewelry, and mottoes or inscriptions on plain gold bands go back to the Middle Ages. Beginning in the thirteenth century, ring brooches and rings were given as love tokens and the language of love was expressed in words and amatory motifs. Each element of this ring expresses love and affection, as well as the union of marriage. The clasped hands or ‘mani in fede’ (Italian term for hands in faith), is a motif derived from the Roman ritual of the joining of the right hands during the betrothal ceremony known as dextrarum iunctio. The right hand was considered to be sacred to Fides, the goddess of trust and good faith. The clasped hands as a symbol of love and marriage has continued in both the ceremony and rings through the centuries
  • A Late 18th Century Gold Mounted “Lover’s Eye” Miniature Brooch #bernardo The rectangular brooch centred with a glazed compartment depicting a painted miniature of a lady’s eye, frame with rocailles, approx. 3.5 x 2.8 cm, approx. 11.5 g One curious type of miniature was the “Lover’s Eye”, a subgenre of jewelry that was very popular during the Georgian era. For centuries, small personal portraits of a loved one had been common adornments in the costume of the time, but representations of that person’s eyes were something truly new. Wealthy people wore these charms on everything from rings to brooches to, of course, pendants. Lover’s eyes, often set in ivory plaques, were graceful and discreet. Presumably, only the wearer and the sitter knew the identity of the depicted lover, making the experience totally intimate and mysterious. The Prince of Wales is said to have given his wife, Mary Fitzherbert, a miniature of his right eye, they later separated, but when he died in 1830, they discovered that he was wearing a necklace with a padlock pendant near his heart with Fitzherbert’s eye inside. The places on the body where people wore them (on the wrist or near the heart) created a tactile and emotional connection that reflected the sentimental closeness between the subject and the wearer.
  • Pectoral Gold Pendant from Castellani with a Cameo Attributed to Luigi Saulini (1819-1883) Showing Pope Pio IX’s Effegy #bernardo Pendente in oro inciso e in filigrana attribuito a Castellani, con al centro un cammeo in agata raffigurante Sua Santità Papa Pio IX, circondato da una fila di pietre incolore e ghirlande stilizzate a rilievo, reca sul retro inciso lo stemma della famiglia Mastai Ferretti a cui apparteneva sua Santità, mm 90X68, gr 105. Corredato di cartiglio in cui viene riportato come segue: “regalato da S. Santità Pio IX alla Contessa Giulia Guicciardini Pucci, nell’occasione della sosta che fece Santità Sua il 18 Agosto 1857 nella Villa Guicciardini a Montughi.” L’angelico Pio IX è finalmente in mezzo a noi, fra le mura della bella Firenze, e nella capitale della gentile Toscana. Chi non sente il cuore inondato di gioia, l’animo ripieno di ineffabile contentezza al faustissimo avvenimento? O giorno felice in cui è dato di potere ammirare ed ossequiare il venerando Pontefice”.” Così le cronache del tempo annunciavano la visita di Papa Pio IX a Firenze durante l’estate del 1857. Testimonianze storiche confermano che Il 18 Agosto di quell’anno verso mezzogiorno e un quarto il corteo papale giunse a Villa Guicciardini, presso “La Pietra”, a Montughi, alle porte di Firenze. Dopo un breve riposo Pio IX pranzò con il Granduca di toscana e gli Arciduchi, col suo seguito di nobili signori. Nelle memorie della Contessa Giulia Pucci Guicciardini, conservate nell’archivio storico Guicciardini di Poppiano (Montespertoli, Firenze), risulta che durante la sua visita presso il Castello di Poppiano, Sua Santità Papa Pio IX abbia lasciato un medaglione con pietre dure e preziose, insieme alla brocca e al bacile utilizzati per la messa (purtroppo trafugati dal palazzo di famiglia del Lungarno nel 1944, dove si conservava anche la poltrona in velluto rosso usata dal pontefice). Please Note : the object is not available for export outside Italy.

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