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Goldfinger


Bracelet
Bruno Martinazzi (Italian, 1923 – 2018)
1969
Object Place: probably Turin, Italy

Medium/Technique 20k gold, 18 kt white gold
Dimensions Overall: 7.3 x 6.4 x 5.7 cm (2 7/8 x 2 1/2 x 2 1/4 in.)
Credit Line The Daphne Farago Collection
Accession Number2006.346
NOT ON VIEW

Bruno Martinazzi follows an Italian tradition that includes the Renaissance masters Lorenzo Ghiberti, Filippo Brunelleschi, and Benvenuto Cellini, all of them sculptors trained in the goldsmith’s art. In both his stone sculpture and his gold jewelry, he favors minimalist anatomical renderings, which he sees as symbolizing the human condition. Some of his imagery—an eye, a clenched fist, brooding lips, or an accusatory finger—has aggressive and even sinister overtones. Isolated from the body, the fragments have a power greater than an ordinary gesture. According to the artist, they represent an expansion of recognizable forms into reflections and ideas. The hand in this bracelet, when worn on the body, looks like it is grabbing the wrist of the wearer and represents the point of contact between two individuals.

DescriptionGold fingers circling to form a cuff
Signed Scratched "VIII/XII"; scratched on base of thumb: "MARTINAZZI"
ProvenanceHelen Drutt Gallery, Phildelphia; Daphne Farago, March 25, 1996 Daphne Farago; to MFA, 2006, gift of Daphne Farago.
Copyright© Bruno Martinazzi