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Info on Anna Bacchelli jewelry designer
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Author:  lyric [ Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:08 am ]
Post subject:  Info on Anna Bacchelli jewelry designer

Hello everyone,

Would anyone have any information on the jewelry designer Anna Baccheli (possibly Bacchelli or bachelli).
I have seen 2 magnificent pieces by her circa 1950 but can not find anything about her work or her biography.
All I know is that her work was not so plentiful and that she would deserve to be more known if all her pieces are of the same caliber as the one I have seen.

Thank you in advance.

Lyric

Author:  Barbra Voltaire, FGG [ Tue Apr 19, 2011 10:17 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Baccheli jewelry designer

The correct spelling is ANNA BACCHELI.
Italian designer of fine jewelry from the 50's.
Do you have links to any of her work, lyric?

Author:  lyric [ Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Baccheli jewelry designer

Hi Barbra,

The only thing that came up when I googled the name was one brooch from her in Primavera Gallery.
If you google Primavera Gallery and scroll down to primaveragallery/page/press and look into their jewelry section,
scroll down to brooches/ pins: it is the 10th group of 2 jewels.

This is the only thing I could find unfortunately.
I know from my client that had a brooch and a ring from Anna Baccheli, that she did not produce a lot of pieces. My client felt very privileged (rightfully so) to owns some of her pieces. My client was in Geneva, Switzerland in the 1980's and passed away since so I could not get anymore information.

Thank you for the correct spelling.

Lyric

Author:  Barbra Voltaire, FGG [ Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Baccheli jewelry designer

I think this is the direct link
Awesome.

Author:  lyric [ Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Baccheli jewelry designer

Thank you for posting the link Barbra.

It is so sad that this is all the information on such a wonderful jeweler.
The work that I had in hand was so beautifully executed , so elegant and so seem the brooch on the Primavera Gallery link.

I would have loved to know more about her work, philosophy etc...

Author:  procreative [ Tue Jul 19, 2011 9:23 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Baccheli jewelry designer

My wife stumbled upon this site. I am the grandson of the late Anna Bacchelli (note the correct spelling) and live in the UK where my late mother settled in the 1950s.

My memories of my grandmother Anna Bacchelli are vague as she passed away when I was about 13.

Her heyday was probably the 1940s-1960s although she traded between the 1920s and the 1970s. She was born I think in 1898 and traded primarily in Torino (also known as Turin) a northern Italian industrial city most famous for Fiat (in fact her son was a high ranking aerodynamic engineer for Fiat).

I vividly remember visiting her workshop as a child and marvelling at the intricacy of the work. She had about 3-4 craftsmen who did the majority of the work. I remember going there most summers and workers coming up to her flat for their lunch and sitting in a tiny cupboard room with a curtain drawn! She owned a penthouse flat above her shop/workshop in Via Cesare Battisti 15.

She was a lovely, generous lady and treated me like an angel, always looking at me with a sparkle in her eye and calling me tresoro (golden treasure).

A few facts:
1. She was the first lady to pass the driving test in Italy
2. She was a pioneer for female businesswomen
3. She was a fantastic illustrator in silverpoint (all her designs were drawn by her, wish I had some) and her inspiration was always from nature and reminded me of Da Vinci in their style.
4. She attended the Royal Academy of Art in Italy (not sure of exact name).
5. The pieces were sold under the Orisa name.

I actually have a few pieces left although I sold a few over 10 years ago. I cannot be sure without checking my photographs but I am almost certain this piece for sale was one of mine (she did do test pieces and most of what was left when she died were test runs sometimes using less premium stones or in miniature, as most work was done to commission).

I sold some pieces via Sothebys and from memory probably only realised about a 1/4 of this price although gold has jumped a lot since then. At the time they knew nothing about her and I told them as much as possible. They decided to sell in Italy and in what turned out to be a huge coincidence a former opera star from the 1930s Margherita Carosio happened to be selling many pieces. It was affirmation after many years of her status as my mother had long since passed away and I could not verify the stories I had been told which I believed to be true. Such as:

1. The American tycoons Vanderbilt were customers
2. The House of Savoy (Italian royalty) were customers and actually asked her to look after their art collection when she took refuge in the Italian Alps during the war. As a thank you they gave her exact replicas which I remember hanging in her apartment as a child - huge 6ft paintings in the style of Dutch Masters.
3. She famously turned down a commission from Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the 1960s as she did not approve of her extra marital affair (she was a devout Catholic and always dressed in Black after losing her husband in the 1930s).

I have always wished she had lived a little longer as I was drawn to the arts and know she would have helped me if I had wanted to pursue Jewellery, however I ended up a graphic designer and photographer instead.

I am just so pleased there are people out there that still love her work. It does not surprise me she is respected in America as Europe long eschewed the flamboyant designs she produced and many dealers frown at the cuts of her stones telling me they were old fashioned.

I hope this gives some insight into her legacy.

Author:  Barbra Voltaire, FGG [ Tue Jul 19, 2011 11:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Baccheli jewelry designer

My! We are so lucky you stumbled on this thread.
Thank you!

If you have links to any pictures of her pieces, I'd love you to add them.
Thanks again for your time. :D

Author:  procreative [ Tue Jul 19, 2011 11:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Bacchelli jewelry designer

No problem just glad to give more info. I have to say it was a wrench to sell the piece (still do not know if its the same one or not but I hope not!). However after 9 years of it sitting in a safety deposit box I decided it was pointless to keep all the pieces as I do not mix in the kind of social circles where these kind of pieces would be sensible to wear.

I think unless you are royalty, diplomatic or a celebrity these kind of pieces are not practical. I mean even when you go to the theatre these days most people turn up dressed down. The last time I went to a big West End show I was virtually the only gent in an evening suit.

We decided to just keep the pieces which we could either use or pass on mainly rings and small brooches. This one made me too nervous to take out. I have to say its got her typical trademarks of nature, the leaves and branches.

We used to have a small brooch of two holly leaves with red ruby berries. Simple but really detailed. She was a big fan of both art nouveux and art deco and a lot of her house was adorned with lovely objects such as murano paperweights, letter openers etc.

Its been 30 years since she passed away now but I still remember those month long summers with her (when she wasn't working!). I am just glad other people appreciate her work.

Author:  lyric [ Sun Jul 24, 2011 8:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Bacchelli jewelry designer

Procreative,

Thank you so much for your post and correct spelling of your grand mother Anna Bacchelli as I have seen her name spelled in 3 different ways in the little documentation that I was able to find.
Unfortunately there is so little on her and so few pictures of her work.

I really appreciate the insight and information that you were so kind to share with us. Would you by any chance have any pictures of her work that you could share with us please?

Anyway, she is certainly remembered as a great artist and seeing any of her pieces is always a treat. She still lives on through her magnificent work.

Again thank you.

Lyric

Author:  thomasset [ Sun Jul 24, 2011 10:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Bacchelli jewelry designer

http://elenconotizie.com/?azione=notizia&id=849623
http://www.artnet.com/artists/lotdetail ... A9FA008FA7

Author:  lyric [ Sun Jul 24, 2011 11:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Bacchelli jewelry designer

Thank you for the 2 great links Thomasset.

Lyric

Author:  wow1stsigned [ Sun Jun 08, 2014 2:46 pm ]
Post subject:  I have some new info regarding ANNA BACCHELLI.

Hello.
I'm new to this site. I am a BOOK COLLECTOR from Israel, most of them Italian. I guess you’re asking yourselves now what the hell he’s doing here. Well I have, hopefully, interesting story regarding the Italian name of ANNA BACCHELLI, (and that’s how you should write her name). I stumbled on this forum just yesterday while looking for info about this lady and there was a discussion about her in 2011.
Now, why I was looking for info about her?
I received an Italian academic review "FILOSOFIA" from 1950 and on its title page there’s a signed dedication: “ad Anna Bacchelli, devotamente, Luigi Pareyson.” Which means: "For Anna Bacchelli, devotedly, Luigi Pareyson."
As a collector of old signed books I am always curious about a name or dedication handwritten in my books. There might be an interesting story behind it.
Well, what I found is this. Luigi Pareyson (1918-1991) was a famous Italian philosopher, a professor at the University of Turin (Torino), where exactly Ms. Anna Bacchelli lived and worked. Her workshop, in Via Cesare Battisti 15, was very close to the University of Turin. What is more interesting is the fact that Pareyson was the teacher of another young and brilliant student at that time who then was Preyson's assistant in the University and today he's one of the greatest cultural icons in the world: Umberto Eco, who wrote “The Name of the Rose” (also a film with Sean Connery).
If you gather all the pieces you see the whole picture: a notable jewelry designer, well received and known also in the high academic circles in Turin in the 1950s – 1960s. Professors’ wives were also good customers. Anna Bacchelli’s fame and the proximity of her workshop to the University as well contributed to good relations. Next time, when I meet PhD. U. Eco (I met him 2 years ago in Jerusalem) I'll show him this academic magazine with his teacher’ s dedication to get him sign on it and I’ll also ask him if he remembers Anna Bacchelli. I hope I brought you an interesting story, my humble contribution to the memory of Anna Bacchelli. Thanks for your attention.

Author:  Barbra Voltaire, FGG [ Sun Jun 08, 2014 8:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Bacchelli jewelry designer

Hi wow1stsigned and welcome.
I moved your post to the original thread on Anna Bacchelli.
This will let everyone who originally posted on this topic that another post has been added.
:D

Author:  Michele Marocchino [ Mon May 14, 2018 6:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Bacchelli jewelry designer

Good morning,

I would like to be in contact with the nephew of Anna Bacchelli, called Orisa, the jewels designer active in Turin in the ‘30s.

I’m the nephew of Efisio Marocchino, who worked with Orisa and continued in the ‘50s and the ‘60s her work.

Can you please write me at: michele.marocchino@lazard.com

Thanks a lot

Author:  Barbra Voltaire, FGG [ Mon May 14, 2018 7:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Info on Anna Bacchelli jewelry designer

Welcome Michele.
I never recommend publishing an email address on a public forum. If you rethink it, I will remove it.

Also, this may be a job better suited for Ancestry.com

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