Sculptural Sterling Silver Necklace and Earrings Set by Graziella Laffi

A striking sterling silver jewelry suite of bold design by Graziella Laffi (1923-2009), Lima, Peru, circa 1970s. The set consists of a highly sculptural necklace with a large pendant and a pair of earrings in geometrical form. The design was inspired by pre-Columbian art in Peru. The necklace features a large crescent-shape plate pendant with hammered surface and five high reliefs of hemispheres in gradual sizes. The shape was familiar in indigenous design, not only in Pre-Columbian America, but also in other tribal culture. The chain is made up with tubular sections and silver balls and has a box clap. The earrings are hallowed form of hemisphere dangled with a triangle form, both hollow.
The design provokes a sense of pre-Columbian endogenous aesthetic with primitive tribal geometry in profusion, yet the necklace appears beyond ethnic, it exuberates a confident and bold modernistic aesthetic. The circumference of the necklace is about 22". The drop of the necklace on the mannequin (not included) is 13". The earrings measure 2.5" long and it has a screw clip-on mechanism. The weigh of the set is 164 grams (5.27 troy ounces). Both earrings are marked "Peru, 950" as shown.
Provenance: Property from the Family of Graziella Laffi.
Graziella Laffi was born in 1923 in Florence, Italy to Gino Laffi, a silversmith and artist. 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. Gino later created a silversmith studio and showroom called Fabrica Laffi on Avenue Mexico, where Graziella initially learned her Craft. The Pre-Columbian culture in her adopted country inspired Graziella to travel and collect, which ultimately influence her design in the silver pieces. Graziella learned the metalworking techniques of the ancient Peruvian civilizations and rejected the current technology. She mostly used hammering, rolling and creating joints as the ancients do. As an ambassador of Peruvian culture, her work promoted the indigenous Peruvian art and rekindled the interest in its ancient heritage throughout South America, the United States and Europe. She exhibited her growing collection of Peruvian artifacts alongside silver work in Washington, D.C. and New York, including the American department store May Co. and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. In 1989, she held an exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi and also displayed her work 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).