Ernesto Pierret (Paris 1824-?), Revivalist intaglio suite. Onyx intaglios and yellow gold, circa 1860s. Courtesy Hancocks.

The suite comprised of a stunning necklace with pendant drops and a tortoiseshell hair comb, both set with circular onyx nicolo intaglios depicting classical figures between bar link spacers with floral centres. The intaglios in the necklace depict a variety of classical figures including Ceres, Flora, Salacia, Minerva, Aphrodite and Bonus Eventus. Ernesto Pierret was born in Paris in 1824 but moved to Rome as a young man where he was trained as a goldsmith, possibly, it has been suggested, in the workshop of Castellani. He established his own shop in 1846 and within just a few years was described by an 1853 guidebook to Rome as being 'now one of the first artists in Rome for Etruscan jewellery'. His work is of very high quality and often features micromosaics, cameos and intaglios all set within wonderful, sometimes highly ornate, goldwork with typical Archaeological and Etruscan revivalist motifs.