Colnaghi London is pleased to present The Art of Adornment, which brings together works spanning from Antiquity to the 20th Century, presented alongside jewellery and belts by luxury costume jewellery brand Sonia Petroff, including a first presentation of its Spring/Summer 2026 collection.
Sonia Petroff was a highly respected accessories designer from the 1960s through to her retirement in 1990. A Bulgarian aristocrat who fled during WWII, she settled in Rome, where she designed for Valentino, Balmain and Nina Ricci, as well as for a discerning private clientele across the globe. Drawing on nature, the Mediterranean, mythological symbolism and art history, her bold and joyful pieces were crafted by Roman artisans and worn by the international jet-set. In 2017, her archive passed to her niece by marriage, Maria Leoni-Sceti, who relaunched the brand in 2018 and who continues to lead the brand's bold and aesthetic vision today.
Founded in 1760, Colnaghi is the world’s oldest commercial art gallery and has long been recognised for its expertise in Old Master paintings, drawings and antiquities, presenting museum-quality works to collectors and institutions worldwide.
Highlights from Colnaghi include a finely carved Olmec serpentine mask (c. 900–400 BC); a highly finished profile of an idealised woman by Jacopo Ligozzi (early 17th century); and an evocative, unfinished portrait by Olof Johan Södermark depicting a young woman in Italian costume (c. 1830).
Placed alongside Sonia Petroff’s designs, these works trace the evolving language of adornment - as a marker of status, identity and devotion, and as a site of technical and artistic ambition. The exhibition emphasises craftsmanship across disciplines, from the painter and sculptor to the jewellery designer, highlighting shared techniques, materials and forms across three millennia.