LA GRANDE ONDA
Sculptural ring in sterling silver
HOLDING A DIRECTION
In Katsushika Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa, boats face a sea that towers over them. The crest rises, poised to fall; in the distance, Mount Fuji retains its stillness. Nature’s power and human vulnerability inhabit the same image.
I have brought this tension into silver. The composition unfolds in bas-relief within a geometric frame, while grooves and hollows along the sides evoke rock shaped by water. The wave continues beyond its image: it leaves a trace in the material.
AGAINST THE CURRENT
Inside the ring, a circle contains a waterfall and a koi carp swimming upstream. This is the work’s Dark Side: a scene close to the skin, reserved for the wearer.
In my interpretation, the force of water meets the will to persevere and transform. Wearing LA GRANDE ONDA can mean acknowledging what we cannot control and holding a personal direction, even when the path offers resistance.
The tribute to Hokusai thus meets DECEM’s vision: experiences pass through us and change us; the meaning we choose to carry remains our own.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL RECORD
RELICTA — The imaginary archive of Minngard
Object: silver ring with a marine scene in bas-relief and a figurative motif inside.
Attribution: DECEM, Paolo Grillo. Venice.
Iconographic reading: the front recalls Hokusai’s Great Wave. Inside, a carp swims up a waterfall enclosed within a circle.
Interpretative hypothesis: a possible expression of perseverance and transformation, conveyed through the relationship between the power of water and the direction of the person who faces it.
Researcher’s note: the wave remains visible to everyone. The carp, close to the skin, preserves a choice that belonged to one person alone.
MATERIALS AND DETAILS
Material: sterling silver (925).
Shape: horizontal signet ring with a rectangular face and substantial setting.
Front: Hokusai’s Great Wave composition in bas-relief, without cropping the sides.
Frame: geometric structure protecting the bas-relief.
Sides: grooves and hollows inspired by water eroding rock.
Interior — DECEM Dark Side Method: circle, waterfall and koi carp swimming upstream.
Technique: lost-wax casting.
Artist: Paolo Grillo — DECEM, Venice.
PRODUCTION TIME
LA GRANDE ONDA is made to order, with an estimated production time of approximately 20–30 working days.
I always do my best to complete it sooner, giving every detail the care it needs.
If you have a particular date in mind, contact me before purchasing so we can assess what is possible.
RING SIZE GUIDE
To choose your ring size, have it measured with professional jeweller’s tools. String, paper strips and dressmaking tape measures can produce errors of several sizes: even a few tenths of a millimetre in diameter make a difference.
PACKAGING INCLUDED
Your DECEM creation arrives in the leather Capsa, included in the price: a case designed to protect it and accompany the ritual of opening it.
RETURNS
