The Medici Cheetah Large Ribbon Silk Twill 10cm x 170cm
100% silk, measuring 10cm x 160cm (appr. 4in x 63in), dry clean only.
The Medici Cheetah
Text: Ghepardo D’Urbino. A. 1487. Aetatis Suae 9.
Translation. The Cheeta of Urbino. Year 1487. At the age of 9.
“From an arched lunette high in the castle turrets, The Medici Cheetah reclines languorously. The scene below is an unfinished fresco bathed in hazy light. Once the province of Gods and birds, this ethereal aerial view presents a forbidden landscape of promises; the Elysian fields, a surrealist earthly paradise with a Babelian tower. Unblemished, soft white petals contrast with luminous, glassy fruits: purity and blood. Columbines crown the captive cheetah’s head, while the noble dove brings news.”
Inspired largely by The Arrival in Bethlehem by Master LC, this scene blends fantasy architecture—like Bruegel’s Tower of Babel—with real landmarks from Medici-era Florence, including the Tower of Pisa, Santa Croce, and the Baptistery of San Giovanni.
In the foreground, the feline heroine reclines like Titian’s Venus of Urbino, gazing skyward in classic Renaissance style. A giraffe—gifted to Lorenzo de’ Medici by the Sultan of Egypt in 1487—wanders the landscape as carnival preparations unfold, joined by other exotic creatures.
There’s a nod to Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, too, with animals, unexpected plants, and rich red fruits. White tulips, cherries, and pomegranates reference Christian symbolism, illustrated in the style of Schreiber’s illuminated manuscripts. Columbines, long associated with the Holy Spirit, appear throughout, and the banded sky echoes Domenico di Michelino’s 1465 Divine Comedy fresco in Florence Cathedral.
References Venus D’Urbino by Titian, 1534
Fairytale Di Firenze
This collection brings its protagonists into a dreamlike Arcadia—a soft, pastoral utopia where everything feels suspended between reality and imagination. Each scene plays out like a still life frozen in time, a little shrine to nature’s fleeting beauty and the endless rhythms of the earth and sky. It’s a storybook world of mountains and castles, rivers and turrets, all washed in a hazy pastel light.
In Sabina’s spring chapter, Florence is preparing for a long-awaited celebration—the arrival of spring—where the landscape transforms into something almost heavenly, a kind of magic that appears just once a year.
Inspired by Italian Renaissance art and the era’s way of thinking, the collection explores the tension between idealism and naturalism. Like many Renaissance portraits, the scenes are layered with symbolism and fine detail, even down to hand-painted-style lettering that shares fictional notes about each protagonist and the “date” of their portrait. Throughout, subtle references to iconic Renaissance artworks are woven into every setting.
Every Sabina Savage design is hand illustrated, telling the story of the collection through the composition and details. The scarves are drawn in full, and the four corners of each scarf hold individual elements, ensuring the wearer will display a different feature however the scarf is folded. Each illustration takes around six weeks to complete.
