Career
Sciarrotta"s work is characterized by a sleek and simple style, and many of his smaller pieces feature his signature leaf-shape designs. During the 1950s and 1960s, Sciarrotta’s handmade silver serving dishes, bowls, candelabra, vases, trays, cigarette boxes, et cetera were sold at the most exclusive American retailers from coast to coast, including Georg Jensen, Cartier, and Black Starr and Gorham in New York City. Bailey Banks & Biddle in Philadelphia.
Gump’s in San Francisco.
Shreve, Crump & Low in Boston. And many more. His designs became known as “The Wedding Gift of Philadelphia and Newport” and he was often referred to as the "Modern Cellini;" this was also the title used for his brochure, which was given to retailers and collectors and included in gift packages.
Sciarrotta"s work was commissioned for gifts presented by the City of Newport to visiting dignitaries, including President Eisenhower, the Italian President Giovanni Gronchi, fighter Rocky Marciano, and Mayor Delmas of Antibes, France in 1962. Also in 1962, a Sciarrotta bowl in the shape of the hull of a 12-meter yacht was presented to Senior
Frank Packer, skipper of the “Gretel”, the America’s Cup challenger for Australia.
His bowls were presented as trophies for horse races around the country. Several of his pieces are on display at the Kentucky Derby Museum at Churchill Downs. His work is currently displayed in the Newport Art Museum, and his former studio is now an art school run by the Museum.
The son of a dry goods merchant, Sciarrotta studied mechanical engineering at Alessandro Volta School of Engineering in Naples, Italy and remained in Naples working at a munitions factory during the years before World World War World War II Sciarrotta came to the United States. in 1943 to play a major role in a clandestine Office of Strategic Services (Office of Strategic Services) operation carried out at the United States. Naval Torpedo Station in Newport, Rhode Island.
In order to protect the secret hardware from the Allied war effort, Sciarrotta and a team of scientists and engineers were smuggled out of Italy with weapon-related hardware and tools plus two small submarines and a torpedo that Sciarrotta knew had been sunk by the Germans in Naples Harbor. The result of the mission in Newport at the Naval Torpedo Station was the building of the first two-man submarine as well as exploding magnetic torpedo devices.
The submarine and original devices brought from Italy were placed in the United States. Naval Academy Museum. Sciarrotta led the project under the code name Robert West.
Upon completion of the mission, Sciarrotta was offered a government position to stay on at the Naval Torpedo Station.
Instead he decided to follow his artistic interests and develop of his craft, creating art objects of copper, brass and eventually sterling silver, applying the same precision and skill to his patented designs as to his weaponry. Sciarrotta died on May 28, 1985 after a battle with lung cancer.