Signed on the base of the neck

Born in Rome and a pupil of Giovanni Pichler, Antonio Berini moved to Milan at a young age, where he worked for some important noble patrons of the city, including Count Giovanni Battista Sommariva. Of anti-monarchical nature, he was imprisoned in Milan in 1805 during the coronation of Napoleon as king of Italy, since, having made a cameo with the profile of the sovereign on commission from the city archbishop, a red vein was apparently found along the neck of Bonaparte's profile, an element that was considered a premeditated outrage. Not many of his works are preserved today, among these three cameos including one in sardonyx depicting Napoleon, but without any political reference, part of the collections of the British Museum (inv.n ° 1978 / 1002.998) and a cameo with the bust of Ulysses from the Santarelli Collection at the Capitoline Museums in Rome (inv. n ° B37c).

Comparative literature: C. Gere et al., "The Art of the Jeweller, A Catalogue of the Hull Grundy Gift to the British Museum", London 1984, n° 876/877/878.