Page 46 - Best Bid 7 | 2017
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1960 CIRCA 1960 CIRCA
DEmI-PARuRE IN ORO, PLATINO, sPILLA IN ORO E RuBINI
DIAmANTI E QuARZI CITRINI gOLD AND RuBY BROOCh
DIAmOND, CITRINE, gOLD
AND PLATINum DEmI-PARuRE BaSE D'aSTa
STaRTiNG pRiCE
BaSE D'aSTa
STaRTiNG pRiCE € 1.000
€ 1.500
Among the characteristics of her creations, we can identify a
We have very little biographical knowledge of her: after tendency to reject symmetry; the diamond and pearl earrings
attending the Academy of Arts she first approached the she made in the Fifties are distinctive thanks to the use of
goldsmith’s art in her husband’s workshop in Piazza Carlo Old mine cut diamonds, most probably taken from another
Alberto but, after his death, was soon to establish her own piece of jewellery, but above all for the asymmetrical nature
workshop under the name Orisa on Via Battisti 15 in the late of the earrings which were similar but not symmetrical. This
1930s. This exotic nom d’art was probably taken from the deformity was their great strength at a time when earrings
divinities of the Yoruba religion, sacred entities that manifested were always identical.
in and through nature. Nature was in fact a great source of
inspiration for her, whether reproduced with utmost precision .Another distinctive trait of Orisa’s work is her preference,
or originally reinterpreted. her creative ability was applied to when using yellow gold, for a matte finish and somewhat
the design and production of unique pieces in wax that would coarse textures that recall a bark motif. These are particularly
then be cast by her goldsmith co-workers. Between 1935 and noticeable in details such as the double band of her pearl and
1945 under the Fascist economical rules, Orisa produced diamond ring, another motif typical of her work. Again here
various purses, evening bags, brooches and bracelets in silver we see a lack of symmetry and a model adapted to the shape
and even metal alongside these traditional, nature-inspired of the pearls.
pieces, drawing inspiration from medieval and archaeological
motifs and even reproducing certain techniques such as Through her innovative and original style, all Orisa’s pieces
granulation. convey the sensation that the creator was a strong character
with a definite taste quite different from the standard
her most renowned work, however, remains her splendid model of her age. This also emerges in the pair of rings to be
flowering vines and waterfall brooches with flower and plant worn together, where the jointed corolla acts as a pendent,
motifs, which were mostly made in platinum in the 1950s. It emphasising the movement of the female hand.
was during this period that the Orisa atelier became a point
of reference among Turin’s high society who visited both for It is important to underline that an Orisa creation, a beautiful
her adaptations and adjustments of family jewellery and the bracelet ,was shown in the Poldi Pezzoli exhibition “Italian
chance to purchase unique and exquisitely made pieces. Jewellery of the XX century “ in milan this year; for the very first
time she has been included in an exhibition on Italian jewellery.
In addition to the entrepreneurial elite, her clients included the This is a sure sign of new interest in this artist from Turin who
Italian Royal Family and the composer Pietro mascagni who expressed “the tastes of her time through autonomous and
gave a platinum and diamond brooch depicting two fuchsias original work” between the 1930s and late 1960s and reveals a
to the soprano margherita Carosio, who interpreted Egloge in recognised talent that has allowed her to break into a sector
his opera Nerone. traditionally dominated by men.
There are no hallmarks ascribable to Orisa and none of her
jewellery bears any signature. The original cases bearing the
name of her atelier and identification of certain distinctive
features of her original production are therefore crucial in
order to positively identify her work.
44b 7.2017 highlights
