MEMENTO MORI
PATI BOGUSZ by OLIVIER ZAHM
In Venice, near Harry’s Bar, lies a hidden store, kept secret by celebrities, artists, and designers such as Alessandro Michele, Tilda Swinton, A$AP Rocky, and Dovile Drizyte Teller: it is the only boutique of the jeweler Attilio Codognato.
Simeone Codognato, Attilio’s great-grandfather, established the jewelry shop Casa Codognato in 1866. Since Attilio’s death in 2023, his son and daughter Mario and Cristina Codognato, the fifth generation in the family, have been committed to continuing this legacy and maintaining the baroque extravagance of the jeweler’s masterpieces.
What makes these unique creations glamorous is not only that they are hand-made, but also that they feature unusual, lavish combinations of precious metals and stones, mostly representing skulls, crosses, snakes, archaeological relics, Renaissance rings, and cameos from ancient Greece and Rome. These pieces of jewelry also serve as memento mori and vanitas. More than just…
ring in 18-karat yellow and white gold, diamonds, imperial jade, and onyx, worn with “vanitas” ring in 18-karat yellow gold and enamel with skulls and snake, set with diamonds Attilio Codognato
pendant earrings in 18-karat yellow gold, diamonds, rubies, and four miniature vanities paintings, with necklace (in front of artwork) in 18-karat yellow gold and silver, set with coffin element enameled in rock crystal with skeleton inside, diamonds, and amethyst Attilio Codognato. Urs Fischer, omen, 2024, installation at the palazzo diedo, berggruen arts & culture, Venice
pendant in 18-karat yellow gold and polychrome enamels, set with late 17th-century antique cameo depicting the judgment of paris Attilio Codognato
pendant in 18-karat gold (from previous page), back view, decorated in enamel with hidden opening Attilio Codognato