A short overview of the history of Ganutell
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Flowers were always used as a means of decoration with artificial flowers being first used in Eastern countries. These Flowers made of different material such as fabric, paper, seashells, woodshavings ,ribbons, and silk were mostly used for decorating dresses and hats and years later were mounted to decorate houses and churches. These beautiful mounts, which were kept under glass domes can still be found in private collections and in churches.
In the sixteenth century our ancestors made use of the spiral gold and silver wire called canutiglia, and together with silk thread, glass beads, pearls, gems, and gold and siver wire, made these beautiful flowers called Ganutell. In fact the word Ganutell is derived from the Spanish word canutillo.or the Italian word canutiglia.
This craft or better still art was practised in monastries and apart from the nuns,few indeed were those who really mastered the craft. The knights of St John commissioned nuns and monks to produce beautiful mounts to be given as gifts to Popes and Royalties.
In 1775 mounts were sent to Rome as gifts for the Pope. In 1787, Grand Master De Rohan sent a mount to Catherine of Russia. A very precious mount enjoys pride of place in a small chapel in Lija, a small village in the centre of the Island. This was a present to the Virgin Mary from the cousin of Pope Pius IX .There are many more of these artistic treasures for as time went by even monks in monastries worked Ganutell.
Because of the second world war the art of ganutell almost came to an end as only a handful continued to practice this art. In 1970 enormous interest was shown in natural flower arranging, indoor plants and dry flower techniques. Attractive as these were, they could never replace Ganutell. The late nineties brought about a sudden revival of the Ganutell flowers
Nowadays many are those who teach the craft but according to Guido Lanfranco, an authority and writer on local natural history and folklore, only a few have the real inclination and artistic qualities to reach an excellent standard of technique and proper presentation of Ganutell mounts.
Today we can find all the materials we need.. Rayon floss is spun with silver gold or coloured wire on a wooden spindle. Once the thread is prepared, various petals are worked. These petals can also be trimmed with zig-zag or twisted wire, or decorated with colourful glass beads, Once the required number of petals is complete, the flower is mounted. The required number of flowers to form a bouquet or, to give it its technical name, the mount, must then be made.. The mount must obviously be designed beforehand, giving due regard to colour and form, and when these together with all the necessary leaves and flowers are in the hands of the artist, the end result is sure to be an awe inspiring work of art.. The finished mount is usually placed under a glass dome or placed in a box-frame to help preserve it and is normally placed in a prominent place to be admired by family and friends.
Ganutell is presently being also used to make head dresses for weddings and special occasions, wedding and Holy Communion dresses are also being trimmed with ganutell flowers. Notwithstanding the fact that the flowers are somewhat fragile, they are strongly gaining in popularity and this augurs well for a craft which had practically died out.
