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Sandro Botticelli - Female Portrait - Precious & Beautiful ExhibitionCameos and intaglios of the Medici

Precious and Beautiful
[Alison Geist]

During the 15th century, wealth was pronounced through appearance, primarily gems and jewelry. For the Medici’s, and other royal people of the times including popes, princes, cardinals, and others, the idea of a cameo or intaglio meant high status. This striving for high status even lead to disputes and inevitable spending of large sums of money to obtain these gems. Nowadays people rarely fight over precious stones, though the ferocity of obtaining high status via jewelry and outward material items is still appreciated, especially in such a fashion market as Florence.
These precious and semi precious gems displayed in the exhibit ‘Precious and Beautiful: Cameos and Intaglios of the Medici’, were important not only for the stones, but also the craftsmanship that was applied to each stones polishing, setting, and creating works of art out of them. A piece of jewelry could take months or even years to create perfectly, and the smallest slip could destroy tedious hours of work. The Medici’s infatuation with the carving of these semi precious and precious gems, and their keenness to collect as many as possible, has made their collection one of the most important in history.
In the midst of this century, the Medici’s became one of the most coveted families not only for their titles and importance, but for their collection of gems. In Museo degli Argenti, within the Pitti Palace, you can view this extraordinary masterpiece of gems. But gems are not the only creations in this collection.
Not only are these gems beautiful on their own, but they are great inspiration for other creations. Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Lorenzo Ghiberti and Michelangelo, to name a few, some of the many artists whose creations are displayed in this exhibit simultaneous to these precious and semi precious gems.
Become a part of this celebration of antiques and beauty until June 27th in the Medici Treasury.

PRECIOUS
& BEAUTIFUL
CAMEOS & INTAGLIOS OF THE MEDICI
Silver Museum
Pitti Palace
Until June 27th


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