September, 26, 2008 - January, 10, 2009

The exhibition is dedicated to oeuvre of the renowned Italian jewellers of the XXth century - Mario Buccellati and his son Gianmaria. The exposition represents various technical skills of the Buccellati artisans as well as the artistry of the designers, which reflect traditions and craftsmanship of this Milanese house.

Buccellati is one of the greatest family enterprises of Italy of the XXth-XXIth centuries, founded in the mid XVIIIth century when Contardo Buccellati set up a shop in Via degli Orafi (nowadays known as Goldsmith's Street). Since that time, jewellery and silver making has become the central occupation of the Buccellati Family. Mario Buccellati (1891-1965) opened his first store in Milan in 1919 and developed his own particular style in jewellery making. Having followed the traditions of their ancestors, Gianmaria and his son Andrea continued developing the Buccellati style.

Gold laces, cascades of rare stones, the mysterious shimmer of precious metals are all the result of more than two hundred years of the Buccellati family's artistic creativity and the affirmation of a timeless style and unique talent.* Among the 150 exhibited articles, executed by Mario and Gianmaria Buccellati, you will see precious rings, bracelets and brooches, jewellery sets, figured silver items, decorative cups and many other artworks from private and museums' collections of Milan, Florence, the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, etc. Each artwork of the company was executed under the direction of the Buccellati jewellers, who personally assisted in designing, art processing and realization of the production.

Italian and oriental art, architectural motifs of the XVth-XVIth centuries, such as geometrical and mosaic patterns, scrolls and etc. had a great influence on design of the artworks by Mario Buccellati. Having been inspired by antique mythology, the Baroque and Renaissance art, the Rococo style of the XVIIIth century, Gianmaria Buccellati created different Cups of Love, of the Euphoric Bliss, of Muses, of Pleasure and allegoric items, such as the Egg of Sin and Tribute to Woman. On basis of old methods of metal working and decoration, he worked out his own techniques, including various types of engraving and openwork embossment, which became characteristic features of the Buccellati style. The most renowned engraving techniques are rigato (parallel lines cut onto the surface of metal to obtain a sheen effect), telato (texture, obtained by fine cross-hatched lines, which imitates linen surface), segrinato (engraving in every possible directions, overlapping textures), ornato (decoration, based on nature forms: animals, leaves, flowers), modellato (the most delicate engraving technique, which consists of reproducing several designs chiselled in three dimensions on a minuscule scale, mainly used for the decorations of the borders).

The exhibition marks a new and important step for Buccellati and reveals the high artistic value of every artwork, designed by the Buccellati makers.