Brafa is back, the exhibition-market of ancient and modern European art organized in Brussels by the Foire des Antiquaires de Belgique Association. The fair presents paintings, furniture, sculptures, but also exceptional jewels. this year Brafa takes place from Sunday 28 January to Sunday 4 February in the spaces of the Brussels Expo, which is located in the northern area of the Belgian capital. There will be 132 international galleries coming from 14 countries from all over the world, with an important Italian presence.
Barbara Bassi Gioielli participates with a bracelet-sculpture by the kinetic sculptor Pol Bury (1922-2005) in 18k white and yellow gold, characterized by internal-external mirrored moving spheres. The jewel falls into the vein of kinetic art, thanks to the movement of the spheres that move around the wrist. The sphere is in fact the protagonist element of Bury’s research, especially in his sculptural work, in dialogue with metropolitan architecture such as the famous Octagon fountain in San Francisco. 2024 will also be an opportunity for Barbara Bassi’s gallery to celebrate an important birthday: the first forty years of work.
Nardi Jewelery also returns to Brafa with three creations that reflect the tradition of the Venice Maison. The Lettere da Venezia ring is a small openwork rose gold envelope adorned with 150 small diamonds. The upper flap opens and allows you to extract two gold sheets: the first engraved with Virgil’s phrase (Omnia vincit amor), the second customizable by the buyer. A tribute to Canaletto is instead the ring with a frame of diamonds, rubies and sapphires, in which a hand-made engraving is inspired by the work of the Venetian painter and aims to create an ideal bridge between ancient art and contemporary jewellery. . Finally, with the Geisha brooch the inspiration is Japan. The brooch can also be used as a pendant. It depicts a female face sculpted in turquoise, while in the lower part a gold fan opens, thanks to a micro-mechanism, to reveal a cherry blossom branch.
The French gallery Bernard Bouisset presents a seventies ring by Van Cleef & Arpels with two flowers made of pink coral, diamonds and gold, an early twentieth century necklace with 35 carats of old-cut diamonds, and a ring by Suzanne Belperron in platinum with a central diamond of 7.17 carats.
The Collectors Gallery instead focuses on design with the Scalinata ring in 18 carat gold and diamonds made in 1983 in a limited edition and signed by designer Ettore Sottsass. Pauline’s Jewelery Box features period jewels including a late 19th century tiara with emeralds and diamonds.
