Bulgari opened the Serpenti 75 Years of Infinite Tales show at the Dazi in Piazza Sempione (All photos: Bulgari)
The serpent, synonymous with distinct characteristics in different cultures, has become emblematic of Bulgari in the 75 years since it first explored the snake motif through its elegant jewellery watches. On the maison’s drawing boards, this creature has evolved through numerous forms, all the while staying true to what it symbolises — strength, determination and transformation.
“The only word in Italian that Liz knows is Bulgari,” Richard Burton reportedly said of Elizabeth Taylor, who wore her Serpenti watch bracelet during breaks while shooting Cleopatra in Rome in 1962. When in that city, Andy Warhol, who had a three-twist Serpenti Tubogas in his collection, would always visit the Bulgari shop because “it is the most important museum of contemporary art”.
Over the decades, the brand has fascinated fashion followers with creative interpretations of the Serpenti, such as engraving its logo on watch bezels, looping rings with precious gems, and making scales an iconic part of bracelets and pendants.
To celebrate this motif’s Diamond anniversary, Bulgari has brought together international and Roman artists under Serpentine Factory, an initiative that holds up the snake as an infinite source of inspiration behind its heritage and craftsmanship and through multi-sensorial technologies that lead to the future.
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The Serpentine Factory exhibition opened in Shanghai in March before moving to Seoul and, now, Milan, which welcomes visitors to Serpenti 75 Years of Infinite Tales, on show until Nov 19 at the Dazio di Levante in Piazza Sempione. Visitors will get to see jewels, watches, videos and treasures from the Italian fashion house’s archives and private collections that trace the evolution of its emblem. The artists involved are Quayola, Sougwen Chung, Daniel Rozin, Cate M, Fabrizio “Bizio” Braghieri and Filippo Salerni.
Quayola, whose work explores the tensions between shape and material and man and machine, has created an installation that, through a live robotic performance, gives life to a series of unfinished sculptures inspired by the Serpenti.
Among the other exhibits is The Dream, a docu-film that shows the birth of Serpenti high jewellery, from how its gems are sourced to the master craftsmen who put their heart and soul into every piece.
For more information on the Serpenti Factory, see here.
This article first appeared on Nov 6, 2023 in The Edge Malaysia.
