Sidney J.A. Churchill e il collezionismo di oreficeria siciliana agli inizi del Novecento

This essay examines the pioneering studies and collecting activity of Sidney John Alexander Churchill, whose research played a fundamental role in the rediscovery and preservation of Sicilian jewelry between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries. Through an analysis of Churchill’s publications, collections, and documentary sources, the study reconstructs his contribution to the understanding of Sicilian goldsmithing within the broader context of European interest in decorative arts and folk traditions during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Particular attention is devoted to Churchill’s investigations into popular jewelry, devotional ornaments, amulets, coral works, and enamelled gold pieces, which he documented through field research and through contacts with aristocratic and private collections in Sicily. The essay highlights how Churchill recognized the artistic, symbolic, and anthropological value of Sicilian jewelry at a moment when many traditional objects were disappearing due to social and economic change. His collecting practices and scholarly writings reveal the richness of Sicilian artistic production and its connections with Mediterranean, Spanish, and Eastern cultural traditions, contributing significantly to the preservation and later historiography of Sicilian decorative arts.