|
Further on, we
saw gilders and painters at work, hand decorating furniture with
curling leaves inspired by the 15th century designs in their
neighbourhood church of Santa Spirito. In one cramped workshop piled
high with gilded frames and chairs to be restored, Beppe, the wood
carver, let us choose from his collection of objects that were in
need of repair. We selected a carved wall sconce and a small Venetian
carved candlestick, then discussed having these pieces painted and
gilded. The prices were reasonable, and they were ready at the
beginning of the following week. The wait was well worth it.
Closer to the river, we visited a silk
weaving factory where they are still using hand looms from the 1700's
to create brocades and taffetas that shimmer in the light coming
through the old glass windows. These silk weaves were once the
exclusive property of individual noble families. In 15th century
frescoes you can spot the female members of prominent families
wearing their trademark silks. I was tempted to order some fabric to
have made into a gown, but my sister encouraged me to maintain my
focus on home furnishings.
Book binding and paper making are ancient arts that are still
practised with love in Florence. In the tiny back room of his
workshop, a craftsman talked to us as he worked. He told us that the
Chinese were the first to invent paper and that the art of marbled
paper came down to Florence through Venice. Meanwhile, he was
creating swirling fans of colour with a comb on the surface of a tray
of water. He laid a sheet of paper on top and deftly slid it off
again, transferring the pattern to the paper surface, a small miracle.
And not to neglect the olfactory,
there was a treat for our noses too. In the Antique Pharmacy of Santa
Maria Novella the fragrance of herbs and potpourri gently surrounded
us. These are the headquarters of the artisans of scent from way back.
The Dominican monks who founded the monastery of Santa Maria Novella
in the 13th century had a garden of medicinal herbs, and with these
they tended to the sick. The tradition has continued through the
centuries. A peek out the back door gives you a view of the 14th
century cloister of Santa Maria Novella. We lingered over the
glorious potpourri but opted for a more practical choice, 'Sali di
Pediluvio', relief in the form of foot salts for the weary tourist.
We were thoroughly pleased with these
experiences, but we were still looking for that romantic chest of
drawers. We found it in the most gracious of settings, in the gardens
of the Palazzo Corsini. The Contessa Corsini opens up her private
gardens, complete with hedges of lavender and potted lemon trees,
once a year for a show of some of the best of Florentine artisan
work.The show was called "Artigianato e Palazzo" The chest
of drawers was there on display in a stone building that probably
used to be a stable or a granary. That piece is now an exquisite
focal point in my sister's bedroom, a uniquely Tuscan presence in our
corner of the world.
(This article is contributed by Florence
Art - Editor. For more interesting travel articles, please visit InfoHub
Specialty Travel Guide)
|
Categories
My sister, Elene, had the idea of purchasing a hand painted chest of
drawers. She wanted the kind that bulge of out their contours in
that rococco style that evokes a more graceful age. What better
excuse for a trip to Italy? We were interested in antiques, but also
in contemporary artisan products. We focused on Tuscany, and
specifically Florence, as it is a known artisan center. While there,
we were able to arrange an exclusive tour of the artisan workshops
of Florence.
Just a few streets over there is a workshop where they continue the
traditional art of marble inlay. Our guide told us that this was an
art that reached its height under the Medici grand dukes. They would
send these artistic creations as gifts to the crowned heads of
Europe when they wanted to impress. Here in the storage room we
examined all kinds of exquisite marbles in their unpolished form.
Orlando, one of the owners, wet the raw stone for us with a spray
bottle and we could see the colours emerge. Today they still bring
in slabs from Carrara, the same place Michelangelo got his marble.
In the work room they were inlaying the surface of a large dining
room table for an Arab prince in Paris. I don't have a prince's
budget, but I did purchase a small inlaid panel for my home directly
from the artisan. I had it framed, and every time I look at it I
remember Florence.