The fourth edition of Bvlgari’s SerpentiForm exhibition has arrived in the ancient

Sichuan city of Chengdu, showcasing the enduring influence of the snake in art, jewellery and

design. Tama Lung gets a sneak peek during the lavish grand opening

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES

ew creatures have captured the

imagination over the millennia like the

snake, the insidious reptile that is at

once graceful, mysterious and, often, deadly. It has appeared

in some form across almost every culture, religion and

civilisation, representing anything from fertility and rebirth

to protection and salvation.

The snake is also a favourite icon of modern-day artists

and craftsmen, in particular those associated with Italian

luxury house Bvlgari. It was 1948 when Bvlgari first took

the legless reptile and reinterpreted it as a timepiece, its

body coiling around the wrist and its mouth housing a small

dial. Over the decades since, the Serpenti has become a

F

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF TIANCHEN TIMES; YUNNAN PROVINCIAL MUSEUM

crucial symbol of the brand, reinterpreted in various forms,

from watches to necklaces to handbags, as well as one of its

most enduring inspirations.

It was this sense of symbolism and history that led

Bvlgari to create a book dedicated to snake-inspired artwork

and antiquities, which sparked the idea for a first-of-its-kind

exhibition in the brand’s home city of Rome in 2016. “We

really wanted to celebrate the serpent not for the jewellery,

but for what it inspired artistically across the planet in many

different cultures and many different times,” explains

ceo Jean-Christophe Babin. “Art, to me, is the ultimate

expression of human genius because it’s a mix of creativity

and engineering. I was in Egypt last week showing some of

IN SIGHT

152 PRESTIGE J U LY 2019