18th century Italian 'Florence Fragment' with fossil coral adorned with tourmaline in matrix with gold leaf and miniature shells.
This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found and saved from the historic flooding of the Arno River in 1966. There is still the original gilding and silt left on the piece to uphold the integrity, craftmanship, and history of sculptural fragment. The fragment is adorned with crushed minerals and shells to compliment and fill the broken aspects of the fragment. The gold leaf on the tourmaline in matrix coordinates with the original gold leaf on the fragment artifact.
The story and history of this piece and Interi's collection of Florence fragments, in particular, are very interesting. While many fragments are distressed due to age, these Florence fragments in particular stand apart. They symbolize a history that has been carried through the streets of Italy, to an Italian palazzo where they were collected, to the Interi studio, to now the modern home or gallery.
Size: 9.5" high x 5" wide x 4" deep
