Photos by Francesco di Bona ©
A selection of 100 costume jewellery pieces realized in Italy from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of 21st century chosen from prestigious public and private collections to give evidence in a fascinating and unusual way the evolution of the Italian taste from the Unity of the Nation to the Nowadays.
The costume jewellery tells the Italian history through the Murano glass, the Naples coral, the Florentine straw, the Roman micro mosaics, the plastics and the non-precious metals invented during the autarchy, the Dolce Vita lifestyle and the experimentation of The sixties, the birth of Made in Italy and the most important fashion brands.
The exhibition shows the habits and the taste evolution of a population that made and consolidate a taste of Beauty even through the fashion accessories and the costume jewellery.
While jewellery talks about the status symbol and economic power of a minor part of people, costume jewellery express the taste of a large community telling its various cultural expressions.
To talk about Italian costume jewellery means to tell the story of the habits, the costumes of a population that always wanted to unify the various local regional traditions in one shared codex of Beauty.
Photo – Museo del Bijou di Casalmaggiore ©
A selection of the exhibition is dedicated to the amazing unique pieces of stage jewels realized by Corbella for the Lyric Theatre of La Scala in Milan between ’20 and ‘30.
