La collana con gemma magica dal ‘Tesoro di Piazza della Consolazione’, Roma 1910

The expression ‘Tesoro di Piazza della Consolazione’ refers to a significant group of jewels that was said to have come to light in Rome in 1910 and was promptly dispersed throughout the collectors’ market. The first reference to the treasure is found in the catalogue of the exhibition of antique jewellery held in Paris (20 December 1913–31 January 1914) at MM. Kalebdjian frères. After this event, the paths of the single items diverged, leading to some of the most important private and public collections in Europe and the United States. Here, the necklace, which has been preserved since 2001 in the Antikensammlung of the University of Bern, is analysed. The first part of the paper outlines its previous passages in the Berlin Schiller collection, the American Hearst collection and the Swiss Merz collection. The second part analyses the individual components of the necklace: the gold chain, the large pendant composed of two gold sheets, and the magical gem (heliotrope) engraved with a three-headed creature with a human body in the upper part and an animal in the lower one. The final observations advance some hypotheses concerning the time and place of manufacture of the jewel and its potential nature as a pastiche, partly executed in the modern age.