In collaboration with the Layan Foundation, under the patronage of HRH Prince Faisal bin Abdullah Al Saud, Alessandro has created large-scale works that celebrate Arab culture, the harmony of the golden ratio, and the richness of Islamic tradition. These monumental projects embody a profound dialogue between history, spirituality, and modern aesthetics, positioning Alessandro as an artist uniquely capable of uniting East and West through beauty and symbolism.
Commissioned by HRH Prince Faisal bin Abdullah Al Saud, founder of Layan Foundation, The Ship of the Desert is a life-size bronze camel sculpture by Alessandro Scavia, conceived as a monumental tribute to Saudi Arabia's cultural identity, spiritual heritage, and enduring relationship with the desert. Created to mark the Year of the Camel 2024, the sculpture celebrates the camel as a civilizational cornerstone of Arabia, an emblem of endurance, wisdom, guidance, and divine design. The work was unveiled at the King Abdulaziz Cultural Center in Jeddah as part of the exhibition The Camel Through the Ages (December 10, 2024 – January 9, 2025). At the foundation of the sculpture lies a rigorous study of classical proportion, governed by the Golden Ratio (1.618), a universal principle found in nature, Islamic geometry, and ancient art...
Commissioned by HRH Prince Faisal bin Abdullah Al Saud, founder of Layan Foundation, The Ship of the Desert is a life-size bronze camel sculpture by Alessandro Scavia, conceived as a monumental tribute to Saudi Arabia's cultural identity, spiritual heritage, and enduring relationship with the desert.
Created to mark the Year of the Camel 2024, the sculpture celebrates the camel as a civilizational cornerstone of Arabia, an emblem of endurance, wisdom, guidance, and divine design. The work was unveiled at the King Abdulaziz Cultural Center in Jeddah as part of the exhibition The Camel Through the Ages (December 10, 2024 – January 9, 2025).
At the foundation of the sculpture lies a rigorous study of classical proportion, governed by the Golden Ratio (1.618), a universal principle found in nature, Islamic geometry, and ancient art. Alessandro Scavia applied this ratio across both the sculpture and its architectural base, creating a cohesive system of visual harmony.
The total height of the work measures 2.75 meters, structured according to the golden rectangle:
The corten steel base, measuring 2.75 × 1.70 meters, is engraved with intricate triangular Arabic geometric patterns, arranged in alternating upward and downward movements that follow golden proportions. These patterns echo the mathematical intelligence of Islamic art while symbolizing equilibrium between tradition and modernity.
The sculpture was conceived through extensive anatomical and cultural research, including the study of camel physiology, Arabic calligraphy, and millennia-old Arabian traditions.
The entire form was manually modeled by Alessandro Scavia, following traditional sculptural practices rooted in antiquity. The camel's head and hooves were shaped in clay to achieve maximum expressive detail, while the body was constructed on a polystyrene framework, balancing structural integrity with lightness. This process allowed the artist to refine proportion, posture, and presence entirely by hand, without digital modeling.
From the initial plaster modeling to the final bronze casting, the work was realized using the lost-wax technique, executed in collaboration with master artisans near Milan. Each phase reflects meticulous craftsmanship, preserving the tactile energy and intentional imperfections of manual creation.
A defining element of the sculpture is the integration of Arabic calligraphy, designed by renowned calligrapher Everitte Barbee. One side of the camel's hump bears Surah Al-Ghashiyah (Qur'an 88:17), precisely cut through the bronze to allow internal light to radiate outward:
"Do they not reflect upon the camel, how it was created?"
The illuminated inscription transforms the sculpture into a vessel of contemplation, evoking divine wisdom and reflection. The opposite side features the engraved phrase "The Ship of the Desert," affirming the camel's role as a vital companion across Arabia's vast landscapes.
The commission reflects Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, uniting heritage with forward-looking cultural expression. The corten steel base, with its weathered yet resilient surface, reinforces this dialogue between permanence and evolution, anchoring the sculpture in both history and the future.
Through sacred text, mathematical harmony, and masterful craftsmanship, The Ship of the Desert transcends representation. It stands as a cultural beacon where faith, geometry, labor, and tradition converge, honoring the camel as both a divine sign and a civilizational guide.
Alessandro Scavia was born in Milan in 1998 into a family whose name is deeply rooted in Italian excellence. His family owns the historic SCAVIA company, founded over a century ago and internationally recognized as one of the most prominent maisons in the high jewellery and Made in Italy luxury sector. From an early age, Alessandro demonstrated an exceptional artistic sensitivity, expressing himself fluently through drawing, painting, and sculpture. Alongside his involvement in the family company, he pursued an intensive personal path of artistic refinement, cultivating both technical mastery and conceptual depth. While still in high school, he conceived and realized his first monumental jewellery-sculpture, "The Throne of Saturn," presented at EXPO Milan 2015. This work marked his international debut at just sixteen years of age and immediately distinguished him for his ability to merge sculpture, symbolism, and precious materials into a unified artistic vision...
Alessandro Scavia was born in Milan in 1998 into a family whose name is deeply rooted in Italian excellence. His family owns the historic SCAVIA company, founded over a century ago and internationally recognized as one of the most prominent maisons in the high jewellery and Made in Italy luxury sector.
From an early age, Alessandro demonstrated an exceptional artistic sensitivity, expressing himself fluently through drawing, painting, and sculpture. Alongside his involvement in the family company, he pursued an intensive personal path of artistic refinement, cultivating both technical mastery and conceptual depth.
While still in high school, he conceived and realized his first monumental jewellery-sculpture, "The Throne of Saturn," presented at EXPO Milan 2015. This work marked his international debut at just sixteen years of age and immediately distinguished him for his ability to merge sculpture, symbolism, and precious materials into a unified artistic vision.
In 2016, Alessandro graduated from the American School in Switzerland and soon after obtained four professional diplomas in Antwerp (HRD), certifying his advanced expertise in gemmology, diamond grading, and jewellery design. At eighteen, he officially began working full-time within the family company, further deepening his understanding of craftsmanship, materials, and artistic production.
Driven by a profound passion for art history and ancient civilizations, Alessandro developed a particular interest in ancient Italic and Mediterranean cultures, especially the symbolic and civilizational legacy of Rome and pre-Roman Latium. His research extends beyond formal aesthetics to the philosophical and ethical foundations of ancient societies, including concepts of sovereignty, labor, abundance, and harmony between humanity and nature.
Parallel to this, Alessandro Scavia cultivated a growing fascination and deep respect for Arabic, Persian and Turkish traditions, admiring Islamic spiritual rigor, refined aesthetics, geometric intelligence, calligraphy, and architectural language. He views Islamic culture not only as an artistic heritage, but as a living civilization whose values of order, balance, and transcendence resonate strongly with his own artistic and intellectual research.
This intercultural dialogue naturally led Alessandro to collaborate with Layan Foundation, based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with whom he explores projects aimed at fostering cultural exchange between Europe and the Arab-Islamic world. Through this collaboration, he seeks to build artistic bridges grounded in mutual respect, shared values, and a deep appreciation of tradition as a source of contemporary creativity.
In his sculptural practice, Alessandro Scavia works with stone and clay using traditional techniques employed since antiquity. His intent is not to reproduce the past, but to reinterpret historical and mythological archetypes through a contemporary sensibility, creating works that speak across time and cultures.
Alessandro Scavia's artistic language is defined by a rare synthesis of heritage and innovation, shaped by a lifetime immersed in jewellery, sculpture, and cultural research. His work reflects a continuous dialogue between civilizations, materials, and ideas, affirming art as a universal language capable of uniting histories, geographies, and identities.
Alessandro Scavia, a visionary artist, unveiled his monumental chair-sculpture "The Throne of Saturn" at EXPO Milan 2015, marking his artistic debut with a work of exceptional symbolic and material power. The sculpture is conceived as a profound tribute to Mother Nature, abundance, and human civilization, drawing inspiration from the ancient Roman understanding of Saturn not as a pagan god to be worshipped, but as a primordial mythical ruler of Latium. In Roman tradition, Saturn was remembered as the just sovereign of the Golden Age, an era of harmony between humanity and the Earth, when labor was dignified, resources were shared, and prosperity flowed naturally from the land. Alessandro Scavia's interpretation deliberately distances itself from theological idolization. Saturn is presented instead as an archetypal law-giver and civilizer, a symbol of order, agriculture, time, and human toil, values deeply rooted in Roman cultural memory...
Alessandro Scavia, a visionary artist, unveiled his monumental chair-sculpture "The Throne of Saturn" at EXPO Milan 2015, marking his artistic debut with a work of exceptional symbolic and material power.
The sculpture is conceived as a profound tribute to Mother Nature, abundance, and human civilization, drawing inspiration from the ancient Roman understanding of Saturn not as a pagan god to be worshipped, but as a primordial mythical ruler of Latium. In Roman tradition, Saturn was remembered as the just sovereign of the Golden Age, an era of harmony between humanity and the Earth, when labor was dignified, resources were shared, and prosperity flowed naturally from the land.
Alessandro Scavia's interpretation deliberately distances itself from theological idolization. Saturn is presented instead as an archetypal law-giver and civilizer, a symbol of order, agriculture, time, and human toil, values deeply rooted in Roman cultural memory.
At the heart of the throne rises a glistening wooden structure clad in gold leaf, formed by coiled, organic strands that evoke both the cyclical nature of time and the generative forces of the Earth. This luminous framework confers a majestic, royal presence, underscoring the idea of sovereign responsibility rather than divine power.
Centrally positioned is a sculpted muscular leg, a striking and deliberate motif symbolizing human labor, endurance, and the physical effort upon which civilization is built. It is not the image of domination, but of work, the foundation of prosperity in the Golden Age mythology.
Flanking this core are twin cornucopias, overflowing with an abundant harvest of hand-sculpted fruits crafted in silver, gold, and precious stones. Embedded with diamonds, rubies, and other gems, these fruits shimmer as emblems of fertility, prosperity, and nature's generosity, emphasizing abundance as a gift born of balance between humanity and the Earth (Saturnia Tellus).
The deep red velvet seat introduces a powerful chromatic contrast to the golden structure. Rich, tactile, and regal, it reinforces the throne's monumental dignity while maintaining a sense of warmth and humanity, a seat meant not for worship, but for reflection on leadership and stewardship.
Blending realism with layered symbolism, "The Throne of Saturn" stands as a sculptural meditation on the Golden Age as an ethical ideal, celebrating nature's magnificence and the indomitable human spirit. Through this work, Alessandro Scavia invites the viewer to reconsider ancient archetypes not as relics of the past, but as timeless cultural symbols of justice, abundance, and responsibility.
Alessandro Scavia
Via Nassa 29
Lugano, 6900
info@scavialugano.com
+41 79 782 61 55
