Tea Service (1997)
Part of the celebrated Silver & Wood series, this tea service embodies Andrea Branzi’s poetic dialogue between culture and nature. Produced in Belgium and commissioned within the context of Casa Argentaurum.
The series reinterprets the traditional tea ritual through a radical formal language. Silver is intersected by natural birch elements, sometimes raw and branch-like. The result is neither purely functional nor purely sculptural: it is a domestic object that behaves like a small architectural structure.
By translating cups, teapots and trays into linear compositions, Branzi transforms the intimacy of tea into a reflection on ornament, fragility and the human need to attribute meaning to objects.
This year, the Triennale Milano presents Andrea Branzi by Toyo Ito. Continuous Present, a major exhibition dedicated to the life and work of Andrea Branzi.
Curated and designed by Toyo Ito, the exhibition offers a renewed reading of Branzi's radical and poetic practice, design, theory and ornament. Through seminal works, research projects and archival material, it highlights his vision of design as a cultural and civilizational act where objects are never isolated, but part of a broader landscape of meaning.
For this occasion, several key works have been lent by Casa Argentaurum. The loan underscores the long-standing relationship between Casa Argentaurum and Branzi's oeuvre, and its commitment to preserving and presenting his legacy within an international context.
On view at Triennale
J7 & J23 by Andrea Branzi (1997)
“Jewels are quite special microcosms, objects useless and absolutely necessary at the same time.” Andrea Branzi, December 1998
The Silver & Gold series explores jewellery as a spatial and symbolic structure. Garlands, pendants and shoulderpieces are conceived not merely as adornment, but as small architectures framing the body. Silver and gold intersect with organic elements, creating a dialogue between precious material and natural form.
The J7 Pendant and J23 Shoulderpiece embody this vision: geometric yet fragile, ornamental yet conceptual. In Branzi’s words, “civilizations without jewels have never existed” jewellery becomes a carrier of metaphysical value, a reflection of culture itself.
Grande Gabbia (1991) by Andrea Branzi is currently on view at the Triennale Milano as part of Andrea Branzi by Toyo Ito. Continuous Present (19 March – 4 October 2026).
Issued by Design Gallery Milano, this monumental cabinet combines lacquered metal and metal mesh with internal lacquered wooden volumes. Both architectural and permeable, Grande Gabbia embodies Branzi’s ongoing exploration of furniture as a spatial device, a structure that frames, filters and defines space rather than simply occupying it.
The open grid recalls a cage-like geometry, yet the transparency of the mesh allows light and vision to pass through, creating a tension between enclosure and freedom. In this way, the cabinet operates as a micro-architecture.