In Mari Veritas is a one-of-a-kind gilded wall work by Tina Scepanovic, built in 23K red gold and resin gems over a paper clay and MDF ground. 10.5 x 8.75 x 1.5 inches.
The title translates roughly as truth in the sea. It is the smaller and quieter of the two pieces Scepanovic made for the Family Show, both of them an homage to medieval treasure binding — gospels and manuscripts bound in covers encrusted with gold, silver and precious stones by the families and churches who could afford to commission them. Few survive intact; one of the finest is at the Morgan Library.
Where those bindings carried saints, this one carries the sea creatures Scepanovic and her cousins saw jumping the cold Pacific waves as kids, along with a few they invented. The relief is modelled in paper clay and finished by traditional water gilding — rabbit skin glue, true gesso, clay bole, 23K red gold — then set with resin gems and left with a few deliberate voids, as though stones had been prised out of it centuries ago.
At 10.5 by 8.75 inches it is small enough to hang in a hallway, a powder room or a bookshelf recess, where a gilded surface does more work than it would on a big wall.
Shown at Love House in the Family Show, 2025. One of a kind.
MAKER
Tina Scepanovic
DIMENSIONS
10.5”H x 8.75”W x 1.5”D
MATERIALS
23K red gold and resin gems over paper clay and MDF
TECHNIQUE
Traditional water gilding — rabbit skin glue, true gesso, clay bole, 23K red gold
EDITION
One of a kind
ORIGIN
New York
*Price does not reflect shipping cost, please email info@lovehouseny.com for a quote
