The Room of the Nail
This room takes its name from the large piece of stained glass in the form of a nail, made by Duilio Cambellotti and elaborately decorated with vine leaves and bunches of grapes.
The motif is repeated in the delicate monochrome work in stucco which emphasises the panels of the ceiling and in the tondo at its centre, from which a chandelier of wrought iron originally hung.
The room was used as a studio by the Prince, but its furniture has been lost.
In the current museum layout, the walls display preparatory drawings and cartoons for the stained-glass, made by Duilio Cambellotti and corresponding, as in the case of the sketches for the piece known as “The nail”, to the stained glass on display in the museum.
There are several sketches of stained glass produced for the House of the Owls, but lost at some unknown point, before the property was acquired for the public. Today only sketches remain of the stained glass series “Dawn Day and Night”, and another piece, “Cherries”.
There are also displayed sketches and a cartoon for some of the important pieces of stained glass that Cambellotti made for the Ministry of Agriculture.
Also noteworthy are the preparatory sketches for “The Magpies”, which was designed by Cambellotti and produced by Cesare Picchiarini for Prince Torlonia. It was the cause of a long legal dispute between the craftsman and his powerful patron, over the financial value of the work that had been done.
Duilio Cambellotti
Duilio Cambellotti
