BUNCH OF GRAPES

Precious bunch of grapes in sterling silver, entirely made by hand by the historic silversmith Brandimarte, active in Florence since 1955.

Grapes, a symbol of prosperity and intoxication, have been present in countless works of art since ancient times. Some of the best known to be found today in the Uffizi Gallery are the Satyr with Grapes, a sculpture from the 2nd century AD, Caravaggio’s Bacchus and the grotesques in the corridors of the museum, such as Alessandro Allori’s Campata 35, in which a Bacchus may be seen holding a bunch of this fruit.

Brandimarte has created trays, fruit bowls and fruit stands for us with typically Renaissance festoon decorations in sterling silver.

For centuries, the art of chasing has been the preferred decorative technique for the creation of valuable furnishings. Indeed, this type of workmanship has deep roots in Florence. The Medici family commissioned many objects made using this technique. Chasing was selected for the typical festoon motif, also to be seen in the Gallery’s grotesques and on the façade of the Limonaia in the Boboli Gardens. Their resemblance to certain artefacts to be found in the general catalogue of Le Gallerie degli Uffizi is evident.