PERUZZI PARENTI CINI SILVERSMITHS BOSTON BOUND
Sing with me please:
Don't know much about Peruzzi his-toe-ree
Can't tell you much about Cini his-toe-ree
Know even less about Parenti his-toe-ree....
Get the picture? Even after years of collecting and selling dozens of the above named silversmiths' fabulous silver jewelry, sometimes I feel as if less is known or at least have become more befuddled the more I read about or try to research their history and work. However, more often than not, I can quickly identify one or the other correctly. They are all known to have left Italy in the 20s and 30s and settled in Boston where they produced their fabulous silver work. It is only by holding and examining their work, or that erroneously attributed to them, does one hope to expand our wealth of knowledge, so the search continues.
PERUZZI: Gino M., opened and operated the Peruzzi Jewel Shop - 252 Boylston St. - Boston, MA - Tel: KEN -2822 somewhere around the early 30's, then was said to have sold his business to Aldo Fioravanti in 1945, who then closed up shop in the early 80s.
The demi parure shown here was selected because it is the least likely to resemble his work most familiar to us, looking more like Hobe as in the multi layer rose buds, yet it is simply stamped: PERUZZI while the ring is stamped: HANDMADE STERLING. That just adds to the confusion when one considers that there have been hundreds of erroneous comments on the net by vendors who say 'he moved his shop from Florence to Boston'. Rubbish! The other Peruzzi branch, if even related at all, had been merrily making fab 800 silver work as well for several generations up into this century in Florence. More on them later. Some vendors, to add to the confusion, even indiscriminately used the first name of one man and used it with the last name of the other!
Back to Gino. His sterling pieces were sometimes theatrical with renaissance, mythology infused motifs (but so were Cini's and Parenti's in Boston, oh no more confusion), dragons, putti, horses, crosses, works with pierced jadeite and interesting custom pieces. They are often marked: PERUZZI BOSTON or on a triangle shape mark with his last name and what looks like a Fleur de Lis. Hmmm. Isn't the Fleur de Lis on the Florence made boxes....? Some of his work resembled some of the Florence work, so maybe there was a familial influence...
The bracelet ring set pictured here has little of what is seen on his other pieces. Except maybe the big leaf seen on other work by same and the ribboned bow which has been seen on 800 Florence work and on USA Parenti work. This is one of the most labor intensive work of all the several dozen pieces examined by this set of eyes. Why, each station has approximately 50 applied pieces. Five stations, not counting the links, plus the ring is starting to look like more than 300 applied pieces in all! Seen are the Hobe-like small double layer flowers with a ball center. Could this have been made after he sold to Fioravanti? Is the later work looking more like Hobe? Was there a cross over in styling? With a Peruzzi in Boston, the others in Florence, Cini and Parenti in Boston all working in similar fashion, can you see how confusion can arise, or is it just me? Then throw in a little Hobe-like accents and one may have the making of a life long study in futility.
A collector at www.mimideeartwear.com has shared that he and his bride had their rings "made there in Boston" in the 50s and he added that Cini, (oh no more confusion because Cini moved to California in 1957 and made jewelry there with several different marks - I preferring his earliest Boston shield mark), 'moved his shop next door to the Peruzzi shop' and competed agressively with him and his designs or the new owner's perhaps. Fortunately for the collector, that may explain why both have produced big, wild, unusual pieces. Some of the same motifs show up on both and for that matter on Parenti's work. Whew...more on them later, I hope. Will continue this at a later date and more infomation may be added as more is discovered.
In the meantime, you are invited to examine all 3 silversmiths' works, to view, to collect the available pieces and to study those which have already been collected by clicking the link just above this image that reads: Vintage Arts: Decorative Art: Jewelry or by going to www.mimideeartwear.com, clicking past the homepage to first catalog page, look to mid left and click: Vintage Arts: Decorative Art.
All images and text content which is original are solely owned by MImi Dee. December 30, 2012
