Selli Cornici: the tradition of Tuscan framing.
A frame does not dress the painting,
because clothes cover a body but,
instead, the frame displays the painting.
Since the Middle Ages Tuscany has been home to the greatest development of picture frames and framing.
During the 13th. century the tabernacle style of frame was created and, having been invented in Tuscany, its style then spread throughout Europe. This century witnessed frames being developed as independent structural elements, with rich carvings and fretwork, ornate with twisted columns, and large crowned felines. They are structured polyptych frames, often being very elaborate and having close connections with contemporary architecture of the period, especially the niche openings in the walls of churches and buildings.
During the mid 14th. century repartition into compartments with a single composition was preferred, according to the Renaissance conception of a unified vision, enclosed by a single wooden structure, consisting of linear beams supported by pillars and decorated with motifs of classical origin.
In 15th. century Tuscany there was a great development of frames, when they were created in autonomous shapes and authenticities that then became the school for framing. The vast majority of draft frame sketches come from this region.
And it is from this tradition the Selli frame business was founded in 1969 in Certaldo. The art of the framer and gilder is in the veins of its founder, Gabriello Selli, whose aura still breathes in his company today. Over the last 20 years, Selli frames, has become well known to the international art market from frame shops to art galleries, traders of antique prints to antique dealers and collectors, and has created a reputation for excellence in frame making. The frames are made from prestigious wood: carved mouldings, inlays, gilt gouache (so called because they are hand polished using agate stone), and gilt frames using pure gold or silver. Each frame is a work of art and made according to the tastes of our clients.