Vintage 800 Silver Peruzzi Style Grotesque Mask Faces Bracelet 7.25\" 53.7g For Sale

This remarkable vintage bracelet belongs firmly to the latter category.

Worked in 800 silver, the bracelet is composed of eleven articulated panels, each framing its own wonderfully expressive grotesque mask. No two seem quite content to behave in the same manner. Some grin broadly, others scowl, howl, grimace or stare with the sort of expression suggesting that something deeply objectionable has just occurred offstage.

Each face is suspended within an elongated openwork frame richly decorated with scrolling ornament and foliate details. Small silver links join the panels along both edges, allowing the bracelet to move naturally around the wrist despite its considerable visual presence. Deeply recessed areas retain a handsome dark patina, while the raised surfaces catch the light and reveal an extraordinary amount of modeling in the faces themselves.

The design is strongly reminiscent of the elaborate Renaissance Revival silver associated with Peruzzi and related European workshops, where masks, grotesques and architectural ornament were enthusiastically borrowed from several centuries of European decorative art and then combined with very little concern for restraint. The bracelet is therefore described as Peruzzi style rather than attributed to the Peruzzi workshop; its only observed metal mark is 800, and its precise maker and country of origin remain unidentified.

And perhaps that mystery suits it rather well. Eleven strange silver faces seem entitled to keep at least one secret among themselves.

At approximately 7.25 inches long and weighing a substantial 53.74 grams, this is no delicate little bracelet pretending to be important. Each individual panel measures approximately 1⅜ × ⅝ inches, giving the masks enough scale for their remarkable expressions and sculptural details to be fully appreciated.

The bracelet fits comfortably on a wrist measuring approximately 6.75–7 inches, as shown in the modeled photograph. With its considerable weight, articulation, darkened silver and wonderfully eccentric collection of characters, it has the presence of a much older piece of decorative art translated into something one can, rather conveniently, wear.

Details:
800 silver
Peruzzi-style / Renaissance Revival design
Eleven articulated grotesque mask panels
Approx. 7.25\" long
Each panel approx. 1⅜\" × ⅝\"
Weight: approx. 53.74 g
Marked “800”
Maker and country of origin unidentified
Fits approximately a 6.75–7\" wrist comfortably

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Condition: Each piece is presented in excellent vintage condition, with only light surface wear consistent with age. Any signs of time are considered part of the object’s history rather than a detraction from its presence. Photographs are provided for close inspection.

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