That was how, by watching and admiring, I learned to take my first steps. And there was so much to watch.
A woman of many talents, a teacher, a craftswoman and a wonderful cook, she was always there to help the family, and never refused a friendly hand to anyone who came her way.
She knew how to be an alchemist and a businesswoman. She did it all without ever abandoning her home. I saw her be both wife and lover to her one true love.
Everything she did, she did well. But her greatest role was always being a mother.
I love you.
Erica Maffeis
Music for the tributeSei tu · Mafalda Minnozzi
Family, threads and memory
The history of crochet, knitting and all the embroidery that adorned and warmed our past.
Family memories · Skills passed down through generations
From threads and embroidery to wood, flowers and devotional objects, this research brings together examples from Val Seriana and memories preserved by the family. The historical period is 1810–1949; later examples are identified as continuations.
The project catalogue records the crucifix used by Giuseppina Persico and later by Erica Maffeis. It also records images of Our Lady and Jesus Christ preserved by Roberto Maffeis.
These objects belong in the research because of their devotional use and their journey within the family. Keeping them, carrying them along or passing them to another generation is also part of their history.
The photograph alone does not identify the craftsperson, workshop or date of manufacture. These details remain unknown.
The Museo del Tessile Martinelli Ginetto preserves looms and equipment for spinning, embroidery, lace and decorative trimmings. Its collection reveals repeated patterns, symmetry, the choice of threads and skill in operating the machinery.
In family embroidery, the reverse side, joins and signs of wear also tell a story. A monogram may indicate the intended recipient, but does not by itself identify the embroiderer.
Shaping a volume and composing an image from thin pieces of wood are different crafts. Looking at the materials and tool marks helps distinguish them.
The Casa Museo Fantoni preserves the setting and materials of a long-established family workshop of sculptors, carvers and architects. It helps explain how models, reliefs and tools circulated within a bottega, an artisan workshop.
Carving, relief, gilding and frame construction provide points of comparison. The Fantoni family’s presence in the same area does not prove kinship or authorship of Maffeis objects.
Born in Ardesio in 1969, Gianpaolo Pasini works mainly in wood and holds courses and workshops in Val Seriana. His work shows that carving remains part of the region’s life.
This example dates from after 1949 and does not directly represent the lives of the ancestors.
In Comenduno di Albino, Arte sul Serio workshops introduce intarsio ligneo: creating patterns by fitting together thin pieces of wood.
Elena Carrara and Angelo Meli appear in recent demonstrations and exhibitions. They are contemporary references for understanding the drawing, cutting and manual precision involved in this technique.
Identifying a family piece requires comparing the design, woods, reverse side, signature and provenance.
A framed flower may be natural, made of paper or fabric, moulded in plaster or painted. Identifying the material is the first step in understanding the object.
Petali di Alice is a reference for floral design in Clusone. The photograph shows natural fibres, foliage and a handmade arrangement.
The photograph does not prove that family pictures made with dried flowers came from this studio. It is a present-day reference, distinct from the project’s older objects.
GusatStore’s wooden heart decorated with plaster edelweiss shows how the Alpine flower becomes an ornamental motif and a souvenir of the place.
This is a contemporary product. Its flowers are moulded in plaster, rather than real dried or pressed flowers.
Still to be confirmed: the origin, maker and date of family pictures made with natural flowers or edelweiss. Present-day examples do not resolve their identification.
The baghèt is the Bergamasque bagpipe. Research by Valter Biella brings together instruments, repertoires and testimonies.
The photographed instrument was made in 2000. It helps show the instrument’s form, but it is not an object from the period 1810–1949.
Roberto Maffeis takes part in the project as the person responsible for music remembered by the family. This current role does not prove that an ancestor played the baghèt.
In Gandino, woollen cloth lent by the factories decorated the route of the Corpus Domini procession until the Second World War.
In Bergamo, burattini, or glove puppets, brought together sculpture, painting, sewing and acting.
To connect these practices with a family member, the research seeks names, places, dates, posters, photographs or attributed testimonies.
Embroidery and household linen
Front and reverse, monograms, repairs and edge finishing.
Wood
Joints, nails, reverse side, measurements, signature and cutting marks.
Flowers and natural pictures
Flower materials, glue, frame and label.
Devotional objects
Inscriptions, medals, dedications and memories of use or transport.
The connection with the family grows stronger when a tradition can be linked to a person, an object and evidence of its own.
References collected in the Família Maffeis Project’s folk-art research. Examples after 1949 are identified as continuations or comparisons.
Image credits. The photographs come from the research document and retain their source credits. For external images without a stated licence, the original document notes that reuse conditions still need confirmation from the rights holders.