The Galileo 2000 Prize: 7 four-hands crafted masterpieces
Photos by Premio Galileo 2000
A sublime collaboration between two historical Florentine realities could only lead to an equally superb creation of sublime refinement..
Yesterday, Friday 19 May, now in its nineteenth edition, the Premio Galileo 2000 awarded 7 splendid prizes to illustrious personalities in the fields of culture, science, economics, art and music.
It is my duty to honour such a masterpiece of Florentine craftsmanship, created by four hands between the master goldsmiths from Atelier Paolo Penko and the looms of the Antico Setificio Fiorentino, two pillars of the artistic heritage of the city of Florence.
The Florentine Lily.
An undisputed symbol of the city of Florence, an iconography that encompasses centuries of cultural heritage inextricably linked to the city. This symbol is engraved on the gold florin coin, whose contemporary reproduction is entrusted to Master Goldsmith Paolo Penko.
The yellow gold work is completely handmade according to the ancient Florentine goldsmith tradition.
The jewel is embellished with ten brilliant-cut diamonds, four rubies and a pearl with silvery-pink reflections.
This exceptional work of goldsmith's art is combined with silk fabrics from the historical archive of the Antico Setificio Fiorentino.
The base is satin, the upper part is 'Doria' silk damask, named after the noble Doria family, who were among the Florentine noble families who founded the Antico Setificio Fiorentino in the second half of the 18th century.
The pomegranate.
The design of the 'Doria' damask is a pomegranate, a fundamental symbolic fruit in traditional textile iconography. It is among the most popular decorative motifs in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Indeed, the pomegranate in weaving and painting has always been an auspicious element, a symbol of wealth, prosperity and abundance.
Two symbols of exquisitely contemporary Florentine style, fused into a single timeless work of art, whose preciousness goes beyond the valuable stones and metals with which it has been wonderfully crafted, yet resides in the riot of intrinsic values and stories it embodies!
