The Eye-Glass Museum at the 'Milan International Antiques Fair'
The Eye-Glass Museum of Pieve di Cadore (Belluno, Italy), which is unique both in Italy and abroad for its complete and comprehensive collection of spectacles, will be present at the 19th edition of the Milan International Antiques Fair, the prestigious exhibition which turns Milan, from 8 to 16 May, into the center of international antiques every spring.
Among the 2,900 objects manufactured all over the world, even in countries such as Lapland, and being part of the comprehensive collection of the Eye-Glass Museum (open to the public since 1990) some extraordinary objects have been selected to be displayed at the Milan International Antiques Fair.
Among other antiques, visitors will be able to admire eye-glasses which are unique for their high quality goldsmith's art and manufacture: rare gold, horn and ivory 'lorgnettes', binoculars and small land spy glasses, glasses concealed within walking-sticks, snuff boxes in gold and precious stones, needle boxes, fans, necessaires and incense burners. Moreover the exhibition will display glasses in iron and brass, glasses for hats and wigs, peculiar 'pince-nez' in tortoiseshell and steel and plastic glasses from the 20s. A quick roundup of precious objects will tell the history of the eyewear industry from the 17th to the 20th century.
Vittorio Tabacchi, promoter and president of the Foundation of the Eye-Glass Museum and an enthusiast collector of antiques, says 'The Museum has become very important for the cultural life of Cadore and above all it gives proof of the work done by us and those who have gone before us. By attending the prestigious Milan International Antiques Fair we keep on pursuing the cultural goal of the Eye-Glass Museum which is to allow an increasing number of people to know its collection'.
'With such intentions and coinciding with Mido, the most important global event of the eyewear industry organized by Anfao - the Italian Optical Goods Manufacturers' Association', President Cirillo Coffen Marcolin says, 'the collection of the Eye-Glass Museum that will be displayed at the Milan International Antiques Fair is an expression of our culture, tradition and history. We could not have found better place than an antiques exhibition where every item gives proof of the human genius, inventiveness and creativity'.
Modern Italian eyewear comes from a centuries-old tradition and is the result of the creative genius of craftsmen working in the area of Belluno. Last year this transmission of memories, culture and customs celebrated its 125 year of activity in Cadore, which is by definition the geographical spot of the spectacle industry since the end of the 19th century and has evolved until it has reached today's modern industrial complexes where the 80% of the national production is manufactured. With their history, design, quality and technology spectacles are not only medical devices but fashion accessories of the high quality markets all over the world. They are the result of a marriage between today's art and technology.
Mido will be held in Milan from 7 to 9 May showing the cutting edge products of today's eyewear industry, from trends to the most innovative and original models.
