Art as Jewelry as Art
Art as Jewelry as Art
Franco Cannilla
Gold Link Bracelet for Masenza-Roma
Lot Closed
October 6, 04:24 PM GMT
Estimate
18,000 - 25,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
Franco Cannilla
1911 - 1985
Gold Link Bracelet for Masenza-Roma
circa 1965, unique, signed Cannilla and stamped MASENZA-ROMA, partial Italian assay and registry marks
18k yellow gold, consisting of six free-form repoussé decorated links of raised lines and abstract shapes
1¼ by 9in.; 3.1 by 23 cm.
Private Collection, Europe
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Martine Newby Haspeslagh, Jewels of the Italian Modern Masters, Didier Ltd., London, 2015, p. 15
Cynthia Amnéus, Cameron Silver, and Adam MacPhàrlain, Simply Brilliant: Artist-Jewelers of the 1960s and 1970s, D. Giles, Lewes, UK, 2020, p. 95 for similar example
This Gold Link Bracelet for Masenza-Roma is a testament to Cannilla’s range in jewelry production, from the figurative to the biomorphic to the abstract. In this rare version of a link bracelet, comprised of textured, punched, and beaten precious metal, Cannilla seems to be inviting gold to reveal all its malleable possibilities. The bracelet also looks heavy, almost a burden, but the sculptor surprises us as he has created hollow links which actually make it a pleasure to wear, all the while maintaining its appearance of grandeur.