Just as jewelry adds a final, transformative touch to an outfit, cutlery is often the finishing detail of a well-considered table. Though typically designed for function, these everyday tools are being reimagined by a new wave of jewelry designers who are merging decorative art with utility to create sculptural pieces that enrich the rituals of life.More than just practical tools, the knives, forks and spoons used daily can act as sculptural accents, objects that bring both beauty and intentionality to the act of dining.Rosh Mahtani, founder and creative director of London-based jewelry brandAlighieri, is at the forefront of this design movement. Best known for her raw, poeticpieces inspired by Dante Alighieri’sDivine Comedy, Ms. Mahtani has always viewed jewelry as a vessel for memory and transformation.Image courtesy of Alighieri“For me, Alighieri has always been more than a jewelry brand. It’s a universe of rituals, whether that’s putting on a necklace for courage in the morning or lighting a candle at the end of the day,” Ms. Mahtani said.With the 2024 launch ofCASA, the brand’s new homeware extension, Ms. Mahtani has expanded that universe into the realm of the domestic. Totemic Devotion, her debut cutlery collection, includes forks, knives, spoons and candlesticks. Each piece echoes the molten textures and symbolic resonance of her jewelry.“For CASA, I wanted to craft ritualistic candlesticks and cutlery inspired by totems, all in our signature molten texture,” Ms. Mahtani said. “The Totemic Devotion collection is an invitation to create your own rituals and to bring people together at the table, to share food and stories by candlelight."Image courtesy of AlighieriDespite the shift in function, the design process remains remarkably consistent for Ms. Mahtani. Whether she’s sculpting a necklace or a spoon, the journey starts the same way.“I always begin the process by lighting a candle, heating my tools on the flame and carving forms out of wax,” Ms. Mahtani said.From there, she turns to a centuries-old technique: sand-casting, a process that involves a two-part mold.“You begin by filling a rectangular frame with this special sand," Ms. Mahtani said. "The prototype is then carefully pressed into it. Next, a second frame of sand is placed on top and just the right amount of pressure is applied."After it’s set, the two frames are taken apart, the prototype is gently lifted out and you’re left with the negative mold, ready to be filled with molten brass.“The most magical part of the process, for me, is that there needs to be a negative to create a positive,” she said. “It’s such a beautiful metaphor for life.”Image courtesy of AlighieriMateriality is another thread that connects Mahtani’s jewelry and her cutlery.“We use very similar materials for both — each piece is cast in bronze before being 24-karat-gold plated,” Ms. Mahtani said. “I love to maintain this synergy so that the jewelry feels like miniature sculptures and the cutlery feels like pieces of jewelry.”The result is a tactile, cohesive world where the line between art object and utensil blurs.When designing tableware, form comes first.“I work in a really instinctive way; I start with shape and texture, meaning and story and function follows after as each piece is then refined,” Ms. Mahtani said.That tension, between the symbolic and the practical, gives her pieces their unique talismanic character, but they’re built for long-term use.“This is the magic of working with family-run casters who have been doing what they do for generations,”Ms. Mahtani said. “We work together to make sure each piece is created to last. I want each one to be beautiful, but also to be used every day.”Image courtesy of AlighieriFor theTotemic Devotioncutlery set, she looked to tribal hunting tools and prehistoric rock formations for inspiration.“I wanted these objects to feel tactile and grounding, like they’ve existed for centuries,” Ms. Mahtani said. “I’ve been collecting rocks and old carving tools for many years now; these objects, alongside formations I’ve seen on my travels, from Peru to Zambia all fed into the collection."Alighieri’s expansion into cutlery is a reminder that the everyday is worthy of beauty. By treating forks and knives with the same reverence as heirlooms, the act of dining is transformed into a ritual of connection and community.
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