Valeria Sacchi Boncompagni

Jewellery maker

©Settimo Cannatella

Shaping stories and emotions

Valeria creates wearable micro sculptures
She has chosen Venice for her life and art
Her unique pieces were born from carved wax

Born in Milan, Valeria Sacchi Boncompagni chose Venice, her mother’s hometown, to live and build her career. After working for years in her family jewellery shop (founded by her grandfather, Icilio Boncompagni, in Piazza San Marco, in the 1920s), she decided that being a skilled and passionate seller wasn’t enough for her: she felt the need to handcraft jewels. Thanks to her artistic training, she turned to an ancient technique: lost wax casting. Today in her “bottega” (studio and shop) in Piazza San Marco, Valeria creates mostly – but not only – wearable micro sculptures using gold, silver, bronze, coral, hard and precious stones. Her detailed artworks are meant to tell a story, they’re sentimental and symbolic creations: “Working with wax enables you to stay in touch with your most intimate emotions and shape them.”

Interview

©Settimo Cannatella

©Settimo Cannatella

How did your career start?: It all began with the birth of my daughter, the most beautiful moment of my life. I was given a ring handmade by a goldsmith, who had been able to tell the emotions of my maternity journey in a striking object. Then I decided to try to walk the same path and began to study.
Where do you find inspiration?: Venice is an endless source of inspiration, the city I choose and love every single day: its architecture, its people, its canals, the water and the colours. I’m never tired of it. Also, listening to myself, to my inner feelings, while I am carving the malleable wax without any project in mind is crucial.
How do you merge tradition and modernity?: The lost wax casting technique I work with is a method that has existed for a thousand years, it links me to the most ancient artistic experiences. But I also need to experiment and explore, to create a contemporary language to communicate emotions and touch people in the present and the future.
What about the future of this craft?: There is an incredible variety of artistic crafts we have to preserve and hand down. Personally, I want to plant a seed, that’s why you can see me work in my shop. I teach in schools for free, I work with my portable bench wherever they call me and I share jewellery experiences.

Valeria Sacchi Boncompagni is a rising star: she began her career in 2017 and she started teaching in 2018