History, art and architecture are fundamental sources for Sassi Fine Jewellery. The Horta collection turns to Brussels at the end of the nineteenth century, when Victor Horta (1861–1947), one of the pioneers of Art Nouveau, developed a radically new architectural language.
Horta conceived his buildings as complete works of art. Architecture, furniture, textiles, wallpaper, metalwork and interior decoration formed a single composition. Nothing was treated as incidental: stair railings, door handles, columns, ceilings and floors all belonged to the same visual and structural order. Through sinuous lines, controlled asymmetry and forms drawn from nature, Horta gave architecture an extraordinary sense of movement.
By the end of the nineteenth century, industrialisation and rapid population growth had transformed Brussels. The city had become denser, more polluted and increasingly deprived of gardens and trees. Its narrow townhouses were often dark, with daylight struggling to reach beyond the rooms facing the street or garden.
Horta answered these conditions by bringing light and nature into the heart of the house. He opened up interiors through iron and steel structures, glazed roofs, skylights and flowing plans, allowing daylight to penetrate spaces that had previously remained enclosed. Stairwells became luminous vertical centres, drawing the eye upwards towards glass ceilings and glimpses of sky.
Nature entered through structure as much as decoration. Horta was interested less in flowers than in the growth of plants: stems rising, bending and continuing into new forms. These lines shaped his staircases, railings, columns, mosaics and wall decoration. Landings opened from the central stair like leaves from a branch, connecting the different rooms of the house.
The son of a master shoemaker, Horta also inherited a profound respect for craftsmanship. In the Hôtel Tassel, completed in Brussels in 1893, architecture, metalwork, furniture, surfaces and light were conceived as parts of a single whole. The house offered a new response to urban life, creating an interior that felt open, luminous and alive within the crowded modern city.
The Hôtel Tassel (1893, Brussels) is considered the first complete example of an Art Nouveau house, encompassing every detail from the floor to the ceiling, including door knobs, fabrics and furniture, achieving a total concept.
A spectacular glass cupola by Victor Horta for Hôtel Van Eetvelde in Brussels.
This ad from 1896 artfully captures the women’s newfound freedom of movement, where the bicycle emerged as a modern mode of transport. She is wearing trousers – perfect for her adventures on a bicycle.
This period also marked a pivotal moment in history, where women’s roles were evolving, not just within the arts but also in broader society, particularly in metropolitan areas where middle-class women began to enjoy greater independence and disposable income. The fashion designs of the time echoed this shift, becoming less restrictive and lighter, featuring soft, gauzy fabrics, sinuous lines, and modern shades. After 1900, a new corset style created an S-shape silhouette, and this era also saw the introduction of sportswear, beachwear, and cycle clothing for women.
Art Nouveau frequently represented women as idealised or allegorical figures. Yet women were also active participants in the movement, working as artists, illustrators, designers and skilled makers. As access to artistic education and professional practice gradually expanded, they became increasingly present in textiles, ceramics, glass, decorative painting, book illustration and interior design.
Their contribution was particularly important to the Art Nouveau ideal of the house as a complete work of art, in which architecture, furniture, fabrics, walls and objects formed a coherent whole. This growing creative presence reflected the wider changes taking place in women’s cultural and social lives at the turn of the century.
Clara Driscoll for Tiffany Studios, Dragonfly Lamp, ca. 1900-1920, Brooklyn Museum, New York City, NY, USA. It was only recently that researchers found out the important role Clara played in the design and production of the famous Tiffany lamp.
Movement and light are fundamental to Horta’s architecture and to the Horta collection. Each jewel translates his sinuous lines and forms drawn from nature into a contemporary structure of gold.
Polished upper surfaces contrast with matte-finished sides, clarifying the changing width and direction of each line. Open spaces allow light to pass through the designs, while custom-cut gemstones introduce concentrated areas of colour.
The collection does not reproduce historical Art Nouveau jewellery. It draws upon Victor Horta’s architectural language, particularly his treatment of movement, structure, light and natural growth, and carries these principles into jewels conceived for the present.