Cime by Saba and Zanellato/Bortotto

Handwoven tales of tradition and the sea

What a universal and inexhaustible source of inspiration nature is. The natural world, in its width and diversity, as well as the lifestyles embedded within it, has inspired and continues to inspire the artistry of all creative disciplines. It represents the origin of an infinity of what we consider to be works of art. In fact, nature and all its forms are the ultimate works of art. With its complex intricacy but innate rawness, nature has been shaped into an infinity of realistic and abstract inventions and, still, never ceases to be the motive of many more.

Saba’s new Cime carpet collection, designed by the creative duo Zanellato/Bortotto, has introduced the natural world into its own universe, creating three unique carpet designs where the voice of nature is the protagonist. This voice expresses itself through sheep-dyed wool thread, using tonalities that derive exclusively from the natural wool of sheep. The colors are created with no chemical intervention, constituting a true expression of nature and its beautiful palette.

One of the Earth’s biggest creations, the sea, is honored in the Cime collection. Invoked through the nautical world, the collection is inspired by lugsails, characteristic of the Adriatic, which held particular functions. One of them was that of establishing a system of immediate recognition at sea. With a peculiar influence of maritime motifs, the graphics of the three carpets that make up the collection refer to the symbols and colors of the sails that identified fishermen families of the Venetian laguna. An utter submersion into the depths of the sea.

However, something that particularly excites visually and in a tactile sense is the ancient Sardinian technique called Pibiones, handed down by generations of women. The Cime collection, formed by hand-woven carpets, was produced in collaboration with the Mariantonia Urru laboratory, a weaving mill that looks to the future while maintaining a quality of product and craftsmanship that belongs to the past. The laboratory represents and withholds a great heritage of technical and cultural value that has been embodied in the Cime collection’s.

Mariantonia Urru’s values of respect for ancestry matched perfectly with Saba’s philosophy. And, through a stimulating journey, they have designed carpets that constitute poems of tradition, history and nature.

The emotion conveyed through this tactile poetry is enhanced by the chosen setting for the campaign: the Giardino Sonoro of Pinuccio Sciola in Sardinia, an open-air museum where large megalithic stone sculptures “sing” in the wind. Some of these breathtaking sculptures recall the shape of sails. Through Mattia Zoppellaro’s pictures, the quiet presence of the textile elements coexists in an unexpected harmony with the engraved sculptures of Pinuccio Sciola. In a spontaneous way, the variety of twines, materials and combinations provoke a magical setting, almost as if they have always belonged together in the Giardino.

The chosen location is the canvas that expands on a tale aimed at creating a link between territory and product, a dialogue between architecture, function and poetry that is never expected. Nature in all its forms and interpretations. A homage to craftsmanship and nature that links the memory of the past to contemporary aesthetics. The Cime collection represents the preservation of artisanal techniques and the story-telling of ancient traditions, and their translation into modernity and timelessness.