Adam's FINE JEWELLERY & WATCHES 16 May 2023

95 136 A GEM-SET AND DIAMOND PENDANT/BROOCH, BY MICHELE DELLA VALLE Depicting the keyhole with view of Rome, set with circular-cut tsavorite garnets and brilliant-cut diamonds, with polished gold bale, mounted in 18K gold and titanium, signed Michele dellaValle, with maker’s mark, Italian registry mark, with maker’s fitted case, length (including bale): 6.6cm € 8,000 - 9,000 Many travellers to Rome will remember their visit to Villa Magistral e with its famous keyhole, set into an otherwise unassuming green door, which shows one of the most beautiful views of the historic city. The lock, which belongs to the Knights of Malta and which sits in one of the few executed building designs by etcher and architect Giovanni Battista Piranesi, captures a view of three countries at once; Rome, Malta, and Vatican City - which is the smallest nation state in the world. Perhaps most striking however is the perfect framing of St Peter’s Basilica which rises over the scene captured perfectly central through the keyhole. Many hours have been spent debating, by historians and de- lighted tourists alike, on whether this framed scene was a ge- nius plan by Piranesi or an incredibly fortunate coincidence. In either case, the view of the three countries in their splendid glory is made all the more alluring when one remembers they are standing on the Aventine Hill. This is one of the famous seven hills that allowed for the construction and rise to power of Ancient Rome. The Aventine in Virgil’s Aeneid is the site of a battle for Hercules and in Rome’s creation myth is the site of Romulus’ augur tent. Standing here and looking over the following centuries’ marvels of architecture and development is nothing short of breath-taking. Michele della Valle is a jewellery designer inspired almost ex- clusively by the marvels of nature, architecture, and travel. Perhaps Italy’s current most admired jeweller and a noted in- novator, this gem-set pendent exudes his interest in his home country and the specific amalgamation of national territories, shared histories, and the human impact on the natural world. Della Valle has often said that his designs always begin with his appreciation of and inspiration from the gems he is working with. When looking at this pendent it is therefore impossible not to ask what was it about these gleaming greens that re- minded della Valle of the luscious trees which frame the Aven- tine Keyhole view, and what about these dazzling diamonds sparked his recollection of the Basilica’s renowned dome?