Coral is a familiar name in the world of gemstone but its long history is little known. It has been mentioned in the Bible to be an item of great value. Coral objects were used for decorative purpose by the Romans and coral was a recurrent motif in medieval paintings due to its alleged healing properties and symbolism of protection against the devil. Resembling a balance among the vegetable kingdom, the mineral kingdom and the animal kingdom, coral stimulates the creation of myths in the olden days and inspires exceptional art and jewellery in the modern times.
The history of Italian coral is inextricably linked to Torrel del Greco, which is famous for its carving on gemstones and cameos. Cameos were already in vogue in the Neapolitan area during the classical age. During the 19th century, the expanding demand for cameos led to the opening of numerous engraving schools and workshops in the city. For over two centuries, goldsmith expertise in the region has created coral and cameo jewellery of unique style and elegance. Today the same expertise and skills of engraving are reserved to modern cameos. Artists preserve their memory and interpret the contemporary style with new codes: from the pop to fashion mood, annulling the connotations of "the grandmother's jewel" in favour of a luxury jewel up to date.
From the beginning of the 20th century, coral graphic references are translated into a modern language by designers of international fame: Fausto Sarli, Italian fashion designer, puts on the catwalk an extraordinary mise de soirée realised by a minute lace pattern of coral beads. Valentino Maison incorporates the deco graphic elements by Erté to define the decorative embroidery of a sophisticated astrakhan coat for the 2013 fall collection. The graceful shape of coral is magically captured by young couture designer Yiqing Yin in her sea nymph-like dress.
The Italian Trade Commission, in collaboration with Assocoral, is organising the coral and cameo exhibition ’TIMELESS SEDUCTION, Coral and Cameo between Memory and Modernity’, during the Hong Kong Trade Development Council Hong Kong International Jewellery Show held from 3 to 7 March 2016. The exhibition is centred on the cultural memory embedded in coral and cameo and how they are reinterpreted in contemporary creations.
In this exhibition, visitors will enter into a fascinating tale that interweaves memory and modernity. A match of cross-references, a dialogue of parallelisms that combine historical and modern images, made of highly significant and graphic images of high impact. Around 20 coral and cameo jewellery producers will participate in the exhibition where over 50 pieces of work will be showcased. Surprising connections between fashion and jewellery made with coral and cameo and original applications of these versatile and extraordinary materials in current fashion and accessories will be displayed.
Visitors will see side by side the image of the magnificent branch of coral that dominates the famous altarpiece of Our Lady of Victory by Andrea Mantegna and an interpretation of coral branch in the golden clutch with coral handle created by Gianni De Benedittis of Futuro Remoto Gioielli, for Maison Gattinoni in 2012. Also awaiting visitors is a drawing of a sea nymph adorned with corals, made in late 1500 by the Florentine architect Bernardo Buontalenti wanted by the noble family of Medici, compared with the sensational dress created in 2012 by Alexander McQueen: a silk chiffon skirt with a top made by thousands Mediterranean coral branches. These two examples, that connect ideally a period of almost 500 years, exemplify how the coral embodies and witnesses exclusivity and splendid elegance of all time.
Curator of the show, Cristina Del Mare writes that if we wish to survive the rapid changes in our time, “we need to make a deeper reflection on the production’s perception to reach a semantic leap” to reignite the ongoing relationship between heritage and innovation. (Source: ‘Timeless Seduction. Coral and Cameo Between Memory and Modernity’ by Cristina Del Mare)
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