Bulgari Serpenti Collection: Luxury Culture on Glossy Paper

Making the book itself an objet d’art: this is Les éditions Assouline’s goal. Specializing in luxury culture, this publisher is enshrining the collection by bringing its most precious pieces together into a book who’s black fabric cover is engraved with but a single word written in golden lettering: Bvlgari.Elizabeth Taylor’s legendary snake watch, made of diamonds, emeralds, gold, and silver, appears on the box cover. Through the lens of photographer Antonio Barella, it’s the image that’s been chosen to open up this Bulgari fable. The preface by Nicolas Bulgari gives an essential access point to this sumptuous and fabulous universe that dates back almost 130 years. In reality, the Serpenti collection has its origins even further back, in the Greco-Roman tradition that the brand has endeavored to preserve. The result is a harmonious continuity that demands that their creations be anchored in the past, albeit with contemporary design touches as well. All the sumptuousness of these pieces is unveiled through the pages, but also, and this is a first, a bit of light is shed on the vestiges that inspired them.

This is how we are led to discover that the iconic snake bracelet, which encloses the forearm with silver and diamonds, takes the inspiration for its curves from a similar element seen on a marble statue depicting the death of Cleopatra. It would seem that the line owes a lot to ancient Egypt; it was on the set of the film “Cleopatra” that Elizabeth Taylor first revealed the realist and geometric interpretations of this symbol to the public. By basing its creations on a distinctive abstraction, Bulgari proves that “the language of beauty is universal”. And that’s just what you’ll discover within this visual narrative: from Ziyi Zhang of China wearing it around the neck to American Daniel Vreeland who turned a Serpenti belt into a necklace, all the beauties of the world pose in its midst. The 120 pages of photos are enchanting and demonstrate one thing that won’t slip by any astute eye: Bulgari loved color and the juxtaposition of materials. And the fact that it’s completely portable only adds to the solid argument for its desirability! While leafing through this pictorial fable, you might even get the urge to snatch them up from the pages.