Closed Exhibition - What is Luxury?
What is Luxury? - Object in Focus: The Golden Fleece Headpiece by Giovanni Corvaja
The Golden Fleece Headpiece
Giovanni Corvaja
2009
22 carat and 18 carat gold
Courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London
The Golden Fleece Headpiece
Giovanni Corvaja
2009
22 carat and 18 carat gold
Courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London
The Golden Fleece Headpiece
Giovanni Corvaja
2009
22 carat and 18 carat gold
Courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London
The Golden Fleece Headpiece
Giovanni Corvaja
2009
22 carat and 18 carat gold
Courtesy of Adrian Sassoon, London
Giovanni Corvaja’s The Golden Fleece headpiece is part of a series of unprecedented objects inspired by the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts, who try to capture a rare golden-haired ram to present as a gift to their king – a near impossible task. Corvaja spent over ten years perfecting techniques of transforming gold into thread. This headpiece was intricately woven together using 160 kilometres of superfine threads. It took 2,500 hours to make.
Making the The Golden Fleece headpiece
The images below were captured in Corvaja’s studio and show various stages of the production process.
Gold 'fur' for the Golden Fleece headpiece
© Giovanni CorvajaThe furry part of The Golden Fleece headpiece is composed of two types of fur: a shorter and finer 22 carat orange gold underfur and some longer and slightly less thin 18 carat yellow gold fur. The strands of filaments (98 filaments in each strand) are joined together in a small melted ball and cut to the right length.
Weaving the Golden Fleece headpiece
© Giovanni CorvajaThe headpiece is constructed from a radial weave where the strands of the warp radiate from the centre, and the weft, consisting of a single thread composed of 98 filaments, spiral outwards from the centre. The warp is composed of 22 carat gold and the weft of 18 carat gold. The number of strands composing the warp increases as the diameter of the weave increases. The coloured dots are the heads of the pins that hold a new pair of warp strands.
Weaving the Golden Fleece headpiece
© Giovanni CorvajaThe headpiece is constructed from a radial weave where the strands of the warp radiate from the centre, and the weft, consisting of a single thread composed of 98 filaments, spiral outwards from the centre. The warp is composed of 22 carat gold and the weft of 18 carat gold. The number of strands composing the warp increases as the diameter of the weave increases. The coloured dots are the heads of the pins that hold a new pair of warp strands.
Weaving the Golden Fleece headpiece
© Giovanni CorvajaThe headpiece is constructed from a radial weave where the strands of the warp radiate from the centre, and the weft, consisting of a single thread composed of 98 filaments, spiral outwards from the centre. The warp is composed of 22 carat gold and the weft of 18 carat gold. The number of strands composing the warp increases as the diameter of the weave increases. The coloured dots are the heads of the pins that hold a new pair of warp strands.
Weaving the Golden Fleece headpiece
© Giovanni CorvajaThe strands of the warp are kept in tension by some steel bobbins each weighing 175 grams.
Weaving the Golden Fleece headpiece
© Giovanni Corvaja
Making the wire, © Giovanni Corvaja
The wire is reduced in diameter by passing it through a diamond with a hole a fraction smaller then the wire itself. The wire is unwound from one wooden bobbin to another. This process is repeated about 60 times making the wire thinner and longer.
Visit Giovanni Corvaja's website
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