Necklace/ chain belt (Collana /cintura ) , Afro, Masenza Roma, 1955

Designed as a chain of  irregular links supporting a detachable pendant that can be used as a scent bottle or a lighter, engraved on both sides with a vessel and a village, necklace signed Afro Masenza Roma, pendant signed Afro, length approximately 420mm, gross weight approximately 555 grams, Italian assay and maker's mark, can be worn as a belt. 

(Realizzata a maglie irregolari con pendente/medaglione amovibile utilizzabile come porta profuma o accendino, inciso su entrambi i lati, raffiguranti un vascello e un villaggio; collana firmata Afro, Masenza Roma, pendente firmato Afro, lunghezza approssimativa 420mm, peso approssimativo 555 grammi, punzoni dell'oro e dell'orafo; portabile come cintura.   ) 

Published and exhibited in Afro - Le due dimensioni del gioiello, Maria Antonietta Graziani e Marco Mattioli, Dataars, Vicenza 2002; ***** Cf: Sotheby's Milan, June 2003, Lot 217, pag 58,59.

Signs of normal wear to the metal, scratches consistent with age and normal use. In good condition. Stamped 750 for 18 carat gold. Please note that an export license is needed for this lot, please refer to the jewellery department for further information.
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In 1946 Afro Libio joined what was later to be called “Schoole of Rome”, where Masenza, a modern man greatly attacted by the art of his day, offered to a group of artists the use of his goldsmithery workshop with the possibility of experimenting their creative bent. This cultural operation sprang from a very particular intuition: to bring jewels back to the uniqueness of the creation of the past and to break with the monotony of the object produced in series and thus diminished in its artistic value.

The tastes of the time readily bear this out, objects were made in molds, so that their value consisted for the most part on the weight of gold they contained.

The initial difficulties of this experiment were to receive their reward in the form of the great success of the first exhibition held in Milan at the famous Galleria del Milione in October 1949.