FLORENCE Palazzo Pitti

From 2nd December 2014 until 22nd February 2015

THE TREASURES OF THE BUCCELLATI FOUNDATIONFrom Mario to Gianmaria, 100 years of goldsmith art history

At the Museo degli Argenti, exhibited for the first time more than one hundred works, including jewellery, works of gold and silver designed by Mario and Gianmaria Buccellati.

From 2nd December 2014 to 22nd February 2015, the Pitti Palace in Florence will host the exhibition THE TREASURES OF THE BUCCELLATI FOUNDATION. From Mario to Gianmaria, 100 years of goldsmith art history, an exposition of great charm and enormous artistic-historical importance.

The exhibition, made possible by the collaboration between the Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation and the Superintendency for Historical, Artistic and Ethno-anthropological Heritage and the Museums of the City of Florence, will be hosted in the monumental rooms of the Museo degli Argenti in Palazzo Pitti in Florence

and will present a selection of over one hundred works, including jewellery, works of gold and silver designed by Mario and Gianmaria Buccellati, one of the most significant names in the jewellery world, heirs to the famous Italian tradition which flourished during the Renaissance under Benvenuto Cellini, one of the greatest artists of all time.

It was indeed in following Renaissance canons that Mario Buccellati, defined by his friend and companion Gabriele d'Annunzio, as the 'Prince of Goldsmiths', created his works, reinterpreting them in a totally personal, unique and easily recognizable style. He well deserves the credit of making famous the 'Buccellati style' destined to become a myth of the goldsmith’s art, and appreciated by members of ruling houses, from pontiffs to men of culture

The exhibition will open with a tribute to Mario Buccellati (Ancona, 1891 - Milan, 1965), including some of the most valuable pieces designed by the founder of the brand, such as bracelets, brooches or the tiara, worked in 'tulle' or 'honeycomb', the real and distinctive trademark of the House of Buccellati, where the delicacy of the fret work is enhanced by the setting of diamonds and precious stones.

His close rapport with the poet Gabrielle d’Annunzio is attested by a twisted silver bracelet decorated with five lapis lazuli, and contained in a box personally signed by d'Annunzio; by a necklace in yellow gold, adorned with a beryl and rubies offered to Eleonora Duse as a "precious, even bizarre" jewel, to be worn as an umbilical garland and objects such as jewellery boxes and cigarette cases engraved with sayings and pictures dear to the poet, and a pillbox inscribed with one of d’Annunzio’s favourite expressions: "I have what I have given away.”

The study, the technical knowledge and the secrets of ancient silverwork, led Mario Buccellati to reproduce faithfully eight cups from the treasure of Boscoreale, the archaeological site near Pompeii, where once stood the villa "of Pisanella", buried by lava after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The most striking elements are the decorations in relief, embossed on the inside and refreshed by hammering on the outside.

The exhibition path set up within the Florentine museum leads on to the section dedicated to Gianmaria Buccellati (Milan, 1929), whose precocious talent - he designed his first jewellery at the age of twelve - was encouraged by his father in order to continue the family tradition. Indeed, Gianmaria himself declared, "My father did not teach me the techniques of the work, just as I have not taught them

to my son. What happens is the transmission of the thought, the vision, the work experience and the absorption of the tradition. “

"I wanted to “steal”- he adds – “the secrets of my father, so that I could add them to my own and in this way acquire an identity different from his. Each of us proceeds with his own instinct, having nevertheless assimilated the principles and techniques of our history. “

The place that houses masterpieces by Gianmaria Buccellati is particularly evocative of incidents in his own life. It was just as, in 1968, he was visiting, the Museo degli Argenti - which houses the famous pietre dure vases of Lorenzo de Medici as well as the jewels of the Palatine, and the splendid works of goldsmith’s art from the treasure of the Medici family - that Gianmaria Buccellati was inspired to try his hand at creating works which, while rivalling those of the Medici in richness and splendour were nevertheless an expression of his personal technical and formal research.

This gave birth to the Precious Items ,as they were defined by Gianmaria himself, unique pieces, such as cups, vases and jewellery boxes belonging to his personal collection and which he designed and created. They are artefacts that testify to his strong ties and constant rapport with the culture of the Italian Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo and of the rest of Europe. Among these 'The Cup of Love' (1975)stands out. Inspired by a rococo motif, with the elegance of the female form, it highlights the loftiest image of the spirit of love. Ruffles decorate a beautiful antique piece of red jasper, while Venus and three cupids, made with the lost wax technique, seem to be moving through the water and through the air.

The respect shown first by Mario and subsequently by Gianmaria Buccellati, for the techniques of the Renaissance and of the Medici is represented, among other things, by some extraordinary items, such as the 'Medici Scrigno', a precious artefact of decagonal shape, which was the first object conceived and designed by Gianmaria Buccellati for his collection. It incorporates motifs of classical inspiration, particularly from the original volumes, which are based on the most celebrated architectural canons of the Renaissance, to the decorative design that incorporates the details of the panels or pilasters of marble or wood of that era, even to the point of achieving the quintessential colours of gold, steel and diamonds.

The decorations, in perforated gold and moulded with highly refined engravings, are shown on a sheet of steel burnished to gunmetal grey, in turn attached to the inside of profiles that mark the shapes of the box. All profiles are modelled as recurrent leaves, while in the centre of the lid, a large rose encased in brilliant cut diamonds is balanced with the diamonds in small rosettes that complete the decoration of the panels.

Also the purity of the neo-classical style influenced Gianmaria Buccellati. One example is the 'Crater of the Muses' (1981), a jade cup that celebrates the legend of the nine gods of the arts in Greek tradition. Particularly intense is the colour contrast between the green of the block of jade and yellow gold and silver, studded with more than 2,000 cabochon sapphires, on the base and around the edge, on which are engraved the names of the Muses.

The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue published by Skira.

Florence, November 2014

THE TREASURES OF THE BUCCELLATI FOUNDATIONFrom Mario to Gianmaria, 100 years of goldsmith art historyFlorence, Palazzo Pitti - Museo Degli Argenti ( Piazza Pitti 1)2nd December 2014 – 22nd February 2015

Opening hours: from 8:15 to 16:30. Closed on the first and last Monday of the month, closed December 25th and January 1st

The ticket price: Full price: € 7.00 Concessions€ 3.50

The ticket also allows entry to the Porcelain Museum, the Boboli Gardens, the Museum of Costume and the Bardini Gardens.

Catalogue: Skira

For Info: tel. +39 055 294883

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