- More
A Graziella Laffi Silver Belt Buckle with Original Leather Strap, Lima, Peru, circa 1970. Marks: PERU, 950 . 3-3/4 x 8-1...
Click the image to load the highest resolution version.$1,462 or more
View Recent Offers on Sold Items in this category
Description
A Graziella Laffi Silver Belt Buckle with Original Leather Strap, Lima, Peru, circa 1970Marks: PERU, 950
3-3/4 x 8-1/2 inches (9.5 x 21.6 cm) (belt buckle)
42 inches (106.6 cm) (overall length)
0.87 troy ounces
PROPERTY FROM THE FAMILY OF GRAZIELLA LAFFI
The belt buckle with hammered ground of undulating fluted forms.
The most frequently cited reference to Graziella Laffi (Italian/Peruvian, 1923-2009) identifies her as the "Spratling of Peru," acknowledging her ties to the indigenous 20th-century Latin American art movement and her passion for the rebirth of Peruvian art. This fascination with the ancient heritage of her adopted country shaped the Modernist forms and decorative motifs of her work in silver.
Graziella was born in 1923 in Florence, Italy. Her father, Gino, a fourth-generation artist, was a silversmith and enameler. Following her family tradition, Graziella enrolled in master classes after elementary school, focusing on design and painting. She next attended Escuela de Bellas Artes de Puerta Romana for three years, where Gino taught, and then to the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, where she concentrated in architecture until the start of World War II.
In 1947, Graziella, then twenty-four, immigrated with her parents to Peru, where family friends provided entry into society. Gino Laffi exhibited at the Centro Italiano, displaying silver, gold and enamel, made before departing Florence. He received high praise and opened a storefront at the center of Lima with a small studio and showroom for his Florentine-inspired work. Following this success, he created a large studio and showroom, Fábrica Laffi on Avenue Mexico. There Gino produced silver jewelry and small objects for the Lima tourist market, while Graziella learned her father's craft. The works produced in this studio differed from earlier production as Graziella supplied designs based on a Pre-Columbian-inspired vocabulary of hummingbirds, pelicans and fish.
Graziella soon had an all-consuming interest in the arts of ancient Peru and specifically on the Chavin and Moche cultures. For six years, she traveled extensively, studying these ancient civilizations and visiting museums, archeological sites and private collections. In the process, she collected a sizable body of metalwork, ceramics, and textiles (the textile collection was gifted to a museum in Florence, and the majority of ceramic artifacts were donated to Museo de Arte de Lima). The collection served as the inspiration for a body of masterworks created apart from her father. This body of work is identified by Graziella's script mark, G. Laffi, as opposed to the block G. LAFFI stamped on pieces produced for Gino at Fábrica Laffi.
Graziella was an exceptional silversmith. She learned the metalworking techniques of the ancient Peruvian civilizations, refusing current technology. In a video interview with Laffi by Paloma Carcedo, an expert in Pre-Columbian techniques, Graziella explained that following many years of study and experimentation, she learned the techniques of the Peruvian goldsmiths: hammering, rolling and creating joints. Once developed, she created extraordinarily large vessels. Particularly challenging was mastering ancient Peruvian double-wall construction. This important feature gives her vessels great visual weight and presence.
Graziella also saw herself as an ambassador of Peruvian culture, promoting the rebirth of interest in Peru's ancient heritage throughout South America, the United States and Europe. She exhibited her growing collection of Peruvian artifacts alongside work created at Fábrica Laffi as well as her masterworks at a series of sites in Washington, D.C., and New York, including the American department store May Co. and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. In 1989, there was an exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi ("Graziella Laffi: Argento e oro del Peru") and also displays at the Milan and Florence Biennale.
Graziella exhibited her work extensively, yet it was not for sale. According to her unpublished autobiography, Graziella intended the collection to be on permanent display at an institution in Lima. That plan did not come to fruition. In 2002 Graziella presented a necklace to Queen Sofía of Spain, and most recently, since Graziella's death in 2009, twelve works entered the collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
Auction Info
Buyer's Premium per Lot:
25% on the first $300,000 (minimum $49), plus 20% of any amount between $300,000 and $3,000,000, plus 12.5% of any amount over $3,000,000 per lot.
Calculate Custom Domestic Shipping Sales Tax information
Terms and Conditions | Bidding Guidelines and Bid Increments | Glossary of Terms
Floor auctions
Open for bidding: (View All)US Coins
Ends on 01/25/2021
Currency
Ends on 01/25/2021
World & Ancient Coins
Ends on 01/25/2021
Currency
Ends on 01/25/2021
Decorative Art
Ends on 01/28/2021
US Coins
Ends on 01/29/2021
Fine Art
Ends on 02/03/2021
Sports Collectibles
Ends on 02/04/2021
Jewelry & Timepieces
Ends on 02/05/2021
Luxury Accessories
Ends on 02/07/2021
US Coins
Ends on 02/09/2021
Fine Art
Ends on 02/10/2021
Decorative Art
Ends on 02/11/2021
Currency
Ends on 02/11/2021
US Coins
Ends on 02/15/2021
US Coins
Ends on 02/18/2021
US Coins
Ends on 02/22/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 01/27/2021
Currency
Opens about 01/25/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 02/03/2021
Photography
Opens about 02/03/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 02/05/2021
Historical
Opens about 02/08/2021
Sports Collectibles
Opens about 02/05/2021
World & Ancient Coins
Opens about 01/31/2021
Currency
Opens about 02/01/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 02/10/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 02/11/2021
Jewelry & Timepieces
Opens about 02/19/2021
US Coins
Opens about 02/08/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 02/18/2021
Decorative Art
Opens about 02/18/2021
Western & Texas Art
Opens about 02/19/2021
Comics & Comic Art
Opens about 02/19/2021
US Coins
Opens about 02/12/2021
Decorative Art
Opens about 02/23/2021
US Coins
Opens about 02/26/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 02/24/2021
Nature & Science
Opens about 02/26/2021
World & Ancient Coins
Opens about 02/21/2021
US Coins
Opens about 02/15/2021
Luxury Real Estate
Opens about 01/22/2021
Fine Art
Opens about 03/03/2021
Photography
Opens about 03/03/2021
Jewelry & Timepieces
Opens about 03/11/2021
Comics & Comic Art
Opens about 02/25/2021
Heritage membership
- Past Auction Values (prices, photos, full descriptions, etc.)
- Bid online
- Free Collector newsletter
- Want List with instant e-mail notifications
- Reduced auction commissions when you resell your
winnings
- Cash Advances
- More Bidders
- Trusted Experts
- Over 200,000 Satisfied Consignors Since 1976
Learn about consigning with us
From the preview party to the last lot to go under the hammer, everything was done in a remarkably professional manner.View More Testimonials
HA.com receives more traffic than any other auction house website. (Source: Similarweb.com)