Alfredo Ravasco (1873-1958) was a goldsmith, sculptor, silversmith and jeweler, and one of the main representatives of Italian Art Deco. The son of the jeweler Giacomo Ravasco, originally from Genoa, he began his career as a jeweler in his father’s workshop, then moved to Milan to enroll in the Brera Academy, where he became a student of Eugenio Bellosio, a goldsmith and engraver.
Chess table, covered with malachite, height 65.5 cm, Alfredo Ravasco.
In 1906, Ravasco began participating in Milan exhibitions. In 1925, he organized a solo exhibition that was highly praised by critics, and in the same year he became director of the Coral School in Torre del Greco. He was one of the few Italian jewelers to exhibit at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1925. Ravasco participated in major Italian and international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale of 1930 and 1936 and the Milan Triennale of 1933, exhibitions in New York in 1928 and in Athens in 1931.
Agate bowl decorated with sapphires, length 10.5 cm, Alfredo Ravasco.
Paola Venturelli in her book about Alfredo Ravasco calls him the jeweler of princes and the prince of jewelers. Judge for yourself how much this title corresponds to the level of Ravasco’s skill. But the fact is that he created jewelry for the royal house of Savoy, including brooches for the Princess of Piedmont, later Queen Maria José of Italy.
Malachite bowl on ivory stand, decorated with clusters of precious stones in gold settings, Alfredo Ravasco, 1940.
Ravasco’s unique style is distinguished by the wide use of such ornamental stones as malachite, onyx, lapis lazuli, chalcedony, and agate, geometric Art Deco shapes, realistic figurines of animals and sea creatures. His most famous works are: the tiara of Pope Pius XI, the boxes and display cases for the church of San Lorenzo, the ceremonial staff of Benito Mussolini, the reliquary with the hair of Lucrezia Borgia in the Ambrosian Pinacoteca, the restoration of the golden altar of Vuolvinio in the Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio in Milan. A large collection of his works is in the art collection of the Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.
Marble jewellery bowl with silver polar bear figures, length 15 cm, Alfredo Ravasco, circa 1940.
Ravasco’s studio and workshops were destroyed in 1942 during the bombing of Milan. He no longer worked. He spent the rest of his life in his villa in Ghiffa, where he lived until his death in 1958.
Lapis lazuli bowl decorated with silver enameled fish, Alfredo Ravasco.Malachite bowl on ebony stand, decorated with silver gilt peacock with small pearls on the comb, height 15.5 cm, Alfredo Ravasco, circa 1936Table decoration in lapis lazuli with agate bowl, silver fish and coral branches, Alfredo Ravasco, circa 1930 1935.Agate bowl with handles, red sapphires, on a wooden stand, Alfredo Ravasco.Lapis lazuli box topped with silver enamelled figures of children in Dutch costume, length 11 cm, Alfredo Ravasco.Agate box in a gilded silver frame with a push button lock in the form of a flower bouquet with blue and red synthetic corundums, carved emerald leaves and pearls, Alfredo Ravasco.Silver box lined with moss agate and topped with a chrysoprase frog, length 15 cm, Alfredo Ravasco.Lapis lazuli bowl decorated with a cluster of berries in carved chalcedony with sapphires, diameter 8.5 cm, Alfredo Ravasco.Agate cigarette box topped with two carved coral fish with ruby eyes blowing bubbles of small pearls, length 17 cm, 1939.Agate cigarette box in silver enamel frame, decorated with carved coral and pearls, length 16 cm, circa 1928.Lapis lazuli cigarette case in a silver gilt frame with rubies, length 8 cm, circa 1935Agate cigarette box with coral fish, length 11.5 cm, circa 1925.Two silver carps, decorated with enamel, on an agate plate, length 14.4 cm, circa 1920.Agate bowl on lapis lazuli stand, decorated with sapphires, length 14.4 cm, circa 1920Table decoration with engraved, partially gilded image of the Madonna and Child on a silver plate, set with precious stones, length 30 cm.Chinese vase decorated with clusters of grapes in carved coral and chalcedony, 1923, Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology, Milan.Gold pendant with rock crystal intaglio by Franz Pelzel, ‘Minerva’, 1923, Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology, Milan.Garnet bowl in a gold frame with coral in the form of fruits, diameter 12 cm, 1923, Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology, Milan.Gold box decorated with enamel and topazes, 1925, Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology, Milan.Tiara of Pope Pius XI by Alfredo Ravasco.Art Deco brooch in gold and diamonds, 1920.Gold case with rubies and enamel, length 8.5 cm.Openwork diamond bracelet, circa 1920Perfume box in gold and rock crystal, 1925, Leonardo da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology, Milan.
