17th century Italian fragment base mounted with a large stromatolite and adorned smaller pieces.
This fragment is from a church in Florence. It was found and saved from the historic flooding of the Arno River in 1966. The fossil stromatolite looks as though it naturally grew and is spiraling from the base of the piece. This is a very rare piece- it is very hard to find it in this color, size, and shape. Stromatolites are the oldest known fossils in the world. It has great significance and it is mounted onto the coordinating and historic fragment base.
The story and history of this piece and Interi's collection of Florence fragments, in particular, are very interesting. These fragments have been used for artists and designers alike to copy for the distressed aesthetic, but here is an original. 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 flood, to the Italian store house, collected by the Interi studio, shown in the museum, and now can be purchased for the modern home or gallery.
The Florence Fragment Collection exhibited with the Museo de’ Medici this autumn. The Museo de' Medici or “the Medici Museum” is located in the monumental Rotonda Brunelleschi which was designed in 1432 and built by Filippo Brunelleschi, a famous Italian architect who also built the Florence dome. He is also considered a founding father of Renaissance architecture. The Museo de’ Medici is devoted to preserving the history of the Medici family and exhibiting precious collections of works of art, historical relics, original documents, faithful reconstructions and multimedia installations.
“I am honored to present this collection with the Museo de’ Medici with the city where the pieces found their origin and precious history,” says Jean O'Reilly Barlow, the artist and founder of Interi. “This collection is to honor the history of Florence and to show the beauty and resilience the city holds. It is the birthplace of the renaissance and this collection pays tribute to the rebirth after the flood.”
To learn more about The Florence Fragment Collection, click here.
Size: 11.5" high x 6" round
