Panthère Noire is a traveling exhibition centered on the monumental jewels of the Tuscan jeweler.
The boundary between art, sculpture, and jewelry is a blur: this is demonstrated by Panthère Noire / Jewelry from a Feline Bestiary, Giovanni Raspini’s latest venture. Unique pieces, large volumes, and feline allure are the hallmarks of his new jewelry sculptures. They are also the focus of an exhibition-event that will tour Italy from May to October 2026, showcasing 28 fine jewelry creations: necklaces, bracelets, rings, and earrings in silver, bronze, and gemstones. Among these, 22 unique pieces and six creations, assembled in two sets for sale, all share a powerful animalier inspiration.
Panthers, tigers, leopards, lions, and cheetahs are rendered harmless using the lost-wax casting technique and transformed into jewelry. In Milan, the inauguration event is scheduled for Thursday, May 21st, at the Residenza Vignale; the exhibition will be open to the public free of charge from May 22nd to 31st. In Rome, the exhibition will be held at the Coffee House of Palazzo Colonna from June 12th to 14th, and in Florence, where Giovanni Raspini is a resident, it will be hosted at the Loggia Rucellai from September 25th to October 4th, also with free admission.
My animalistic instinct was born while admiring the marvelous jewelry that unknown goldsmiths have dedicated to felines over the millennia. I vividly remember a Hittite gold bracelet I saw many years ago at the museum in Ankara, Turkey. Two lion protomes joined by a semicircle: a beauty so simple and effective that it seems ultra-modern. And besides, since at least the second millennium B.C., jewelry designers around the world have explored the mysterious elegance of felines, almost as if trying to domesticate the aggressiveness and extraordinary strength of these elegant animals in a precious artifact. An apotropaic gesture that finds its acme in the story of Hercules defeating the Nemean lion, then wearing its skin as an invincible cloak.
Giovanni Raspini
Jewels
Among the most significant pieces is the Panthère Noire necklace, the star of the exhibition, a significant and iconic piece with a deep black stylistic tone. Crafted from burnished white bronze and enameled bronze, enriched with large black onyx gemstones and feathers of the same color, it features a panther’s head in the center, shown in close-up. The Snow Leopard necklace depicts a snow leopard resting on a bed of snow and ice, which, in Giovanni Raspini’s interpretation, is formed by luminous rock crystal quartz. The Tiger necklace, representing the largest and most dangerous feline, features the animal at its center, surrounded by a tropical forest where small monkeys also climb. It is crafted from burnished bronze and burnished white bronze, with gemstones of hydrothermal quartz, moss agate, and mother-of-pearl. The Cheetah necklace, in enameled gilded bronze, green agate, and carnelian, features two felines at the bottom center, while large cabochon-cut gemstones surround and enrich the design. The Black and Gold necklace features two felines, almost in opposition, perched on large rock crystal quartz: one light and gold-colored, the other darker and gray.
