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Italian Handcrafts:
Florentine Goldsmithery
Historical background
The art of the Florentine goldsmiths dates back to the 12th-13th century and covers a range of techniques, such as open work, burin engraving, chasing, “niello”, damascening, “cesoro”, soldering, cuttlebone casting, crucible casting, and foil and wire lamination.
artisans and trained in goldsmiths’ shops, as this was one of the most prosperous activities in medieval and renaissance Florence.
The works of these artists, who progressed from working in gold to sculpture and architecture with great ease, were mainly focussed on the subjects of sacred art.
For this reason, in 2012 the world’s first and only Sacred Art School was established in Florence, with the aim of reviving contemporary sacred art production in harmony with centuries of Florentine handicraft and artistic production.
The history of Florentine goldsmithery is also the history of its economy: the Republic began minting gold coins in the mid-13th century, and thus the gold florin was born, as a sign of its economic power. Florence was powerful indeed, considering that, aside from the Byzantine and Islamic Empires, no other state had minted its own coins since the fall of the Roman Empire.
The florin first appeared in 1252 and marked a genuine watershed in the city’s economic history, acquiring an importance in the middle ages similar to that of the US dollar today.
From this period, gold work spread in unimaginable ways, from gold leaf in paintings and frames to the production of precious silk fabrics with metallic gold yarn.
Over the centuries, the techniques have been applied to both the manufacture of jewellery and gold sculptures, and to sacred gold work, with the production of crosses, chalices, reliquaries and missal covers.
The Florentine goldsmiths’ art is the legacy of the Renaissance workshop: internationally renowned artists, such as Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello and Luca della Robbia, were born as artisans and trained in goldsmiths’ shops, as this was one of the most prosperous activities in medieval and renaissance Florence.