Over 100 masterpieces by two generations of Buccellati on show in Florence

Over one hundred works, including jewelry, gold and silver objects designed by Mario and Gianmaria Buccellati are the protagonists of an exhibition held in the rooms of Museo degli Argenti, in Palazzo Pitti, in Florence. Father and son, both of them part of a tradition dating back to the eighteenth century which flourished during the Renaissance under Benvenuto Cellini, one of the greatest artists of all time.

Mario (1891- 1965) started his activity opening a shop in Milan, in via S. Margherita, near the famous Teatro alla Scala, back in 1919. His reputation expanded quickly and its name stood out in jewelry’s and silverware’s design, so as to open new stores in the world, in Florence, Rome, New York and, with his son Gianmaria, in Paris, London , Moscow, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hong Kong, Milan, Beverly Hills, Aspen and Sydney.

The exhibition in Florence is a tribute , first of all, to the founder Mario, and it includes some of the most valuable pieces designed by this artisan, such as bracelets, brooches or tiaras, worked in 'tulle' or 'honeycomb'. His close relationship with poet Gabriele d’Annunzio - who used to define his friend as the 'Prince of Goldsmiths' - is attested by a twisted silver bracelet decorated with five lapis lazuli, and contained in a box personally signed by d’Annunzio. There is also a necklace in yellow gold, adorned with a beryl and rubies offered to Eleonora Duse, one of the most prominent Italian theater actresses of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.

A section of the show is dedicated to Gianmaria Buccellati (Milan, 1929). He designed his first jewel at the age of twelve and was encouraged by his father to continue the family tradition. Indeed, Gianmaria himself said: “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 my father’s secrets, 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,” he added.

(“The treasures of the Buccellati Foundation, from Mario to Gianmaria, 100 years of goldsmith art history,” Florence, Palazzo Pitti - Museo Degli Argenti)