«Venice was not even Italian when my great-grandfather Simeone inaugurated his workshop in San Marco 1295», explains Attilio Codognato, the fourth-generation head of the historic family of Venetian jewelers.
«It was 1866 Venice and we began a new decorative propensity with Simeone; it was and still is a fusion between different styles, a sort of international neo-Gothicism, an attempt at being an expression of Venice and letting Venice “speak” through jewels and objets d’art», he continues.
In reality, Simeone Codognato started out as a salesman of antique paintings and objet d’art in which the subjects were always tied to Venice and conceived for travelers of the Grand Tour who wanted to remember the city.
The “jewelry” direction came from Simeone’s son, Attilio, who in 1906 made a pivotal move towards modernity, creating his first jewel in the form of a skull, better known as Vanitas. These unique pieces manifested Attilio’s vivid interest in archeological discoveries in Etruria, which influenced his artistic direction. And in the double window in San Marco, a universe of true beauty materializes in bracelets, snakes, blackamoor brooches, skull rings and earrings and antique cameos.
True one-of-a-kind pieces in coral or rock crystals combine Baroque or Byzantine styles and filigree with granulation techniques. Is it a spirit of provocation, a praise of folly or simply an ability to see the strength of eternity in a jewel?
VOGUE GIOIELLO 2015