A fourth-generation member of an important Florentine goldsmith dynasty, appointed MAM – Maestro d’Arte e Mestiere by the Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte in 2020, Tommaso Pestelli has forged a personal path that has enabled him to broaden the horizons of his family’s historic workshop. He began with himself and with his innate vocation to seek, in objects, the balance between nature and human craftsmanship: that magic he admired, as a young student, in the great Medici collections.
In his workshop every creation – from the simplest jewel to the grand objet d’art inspired by the Renaissance and Mannerist tradition – passes through his hands. It is a choice, even before it is a form of control: each piece must embody his gaze, his idea, his responsibility. And yet, he tells us, the workshop could not have become what it is without his father, who supported his inclinations; without his wife, who works by his side; and even without his son, who directs him toward the future.
Your training took you through the workshop, the Academy and the Opificio: how did you find your own personal path?
I owe a great deal to my father and to his intuition. He quickly understood my need for self-expression, my desire to create something of my own, and he knew I would feel constrained within the sole dimension of jewelry, if understood in the traditional sense.
He first supported my wish to study sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts. The true revelation, however, came from the opportunity to admire the great Medici collections, where jewelry is also sculpture, furnishing object, technical marvel and pure fantasy. From there came the idea of allowing me to pursue restoration studies at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure: it was an extraordinary school, which taught me respect for materials, for their history and their fragility. Step by step, I found my own path, also following a particular predilection for hidden details, for those creative solutions between technique and aesthetics, for those “caprices” that are typical of the great Florentine tradition.
In your work the word “balance” recurs frequently. What does it mean to you?
I have a natural inclination toward balance, nurtured by the study of the classics. In particular, I love all those objects from the past that, at first glance, convey a sense of perfect equilibrium between nature and artifice. I am thinking of works in which shells, corals and hardstones converse with gold, with metals, with human invention. Sometimes, what creates harmony is precisely an element that appears dissonant.
In your practice you engage daily not only with the Florentine tradition but also with your family’s heritage. What role does the Pestelli archive play in your creative process?
It is a private archive that represents an inexhaustible source of inspiration. We preserve thousands of silver models, drawings, fragments, parts of ornamental objects. I often find myself admiring them and thinking they are made better than I would be able to make them. I am deeply fascinated by the freedom with which, at the end of the nineteenth century, different styles were blended: classical, Renaissance, naturalistic. I love that capacity for hybridization. The archive is not a repertoire to be copied, but fertile ground where ideas intertwine and transform.
Your clientele is highly diverse: great Florentine and international families, tourists, luxury brands with whom you collaborate. How is this reflected in the workshop’s production?
Naturally, production varies according to the commission, but there is one constant: every single object that leaves the workshop passes through my hands. It is a form of control, certainly, but above all it is an assumption of responsibility. It must represent me, my name, my gaze.
My objets d’art, those closest to the late Renaissance and Mannerist tradition, always originate from my own idea. Often everything begins with a falling in love: with a particular stone, a shell, a coral, an ostrich egg. Imagination, combined with experience, gradually guides me toward the final form. It is precious when I meet a patron with whom there is a shared sensibility: a shared pleasure arises, forming the basis of genuine human relationships, even before commercial ones.
Your wife also works alongside you. What kind of dialogue develops between you?
I met Eva during my studies, and everything would have been different without her at my side. She is an established artist working in graphic design, and she brings into the workshop her entire world – shaped by a different gaze and an extraordinary creativity. She not only carefully manages client relations, but also contributes during the design phase and, given her skills in engraving, in decoration and finishing as well.
Your son represents a possible future for the workshop. What is his role?
My son Paul is twenty and studies product design. He strongly stimulates me in the field of innovation: tools, technologies, new processes. I believe these processes must be integrated into artisanal practice, yet always remain complementary to manual work, because only the human gesture gives an object a life that goes beyond technical perfection. He also pushes me toward products with a cleaner, more contemporary taste and toward collaborations with designers, which greatly interest us. We are currently working, for example, on the “Doppia Firma” project of the Fondazione Cologni dei Mestieri d’Arte, to be presented at the next Milan Design Week, which will see us engaged in the creation of an object designed by an important name in the design world.
Looking back at your journey, what do you feel you have received, and what would you like to pass on?
I consider myself very fortunate. My family believed in my dream; they gave me trust and space. They allowed me to carve out a non-linear path, to study sculpture and restoration, to enrich my skills organically and to see my personal inclinations supported. It is something I wish for all young people: to have the time and the freedom to truly understand who they are.
PESTELLI CREAZIONI
Via del Sole, 22R
Firenze (FI) – ITALY
+39 055 2302488
info@pestelli.com
www.pestelli.com
