Exhibitions Archive - non-metallic materials
Ceramics
Fired, Crafted and Blown
New ceramic jewellery from Jane Stirzaker-Evans
17/09/2011 – 21/01/2012
Worthing Museum and Art Gallery, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 1HP, UK,
A Bit of Clay on the Skin: New Ceramic Jewelry
This exhibition explores the manifold appeal of ceramics, especially porcelain, in jewelry. Organized by the Fondation d'Entreprise Bernardaud and curated by the renowned German-born goldsmith and jewelry artist Monika Brugger, the exhibition showcases the versatility and allure of the medium, which can be modeled or cast, used alone or with metal, wood, and stone, and vary in color and texture. Best known as the stuff of the luxurious and the mundane, of fine tableware and technical equipment, when used in jewelry, porcelain sparks the visual and physical sensations to become an object of desire.
15/03/2011 - 4/09/2011
Museum of Arts and Design, New York Ny 10019, USA
Life in Miniature: Ceramic Netsuke from the Silverman Collection
The people of Japan created some of the most opulent personal accessories during the Edo Period (1615–1868) in order to attach inro (cases) to their elaborate silk clothing. Japanese artists invented miniature sculptures known as netsuke (pronounced NET-skeh) as fasteners for luxury-loving Japanese citizens. The tiny treasures, which were worn primarily by men, have since been collected for their wit, whimsy and craftsmanship. Approximately 200 rare ceramic netsuke were recently donated to the Museum by Richard R. Silverman, one of the most prominent collectors of netsuke in the world, and are being exhibited for the first time. Life in Miniature explores the iconography of these decorative and useful objects and their depiction of everyday and fantastic subject matter. Also shown are Japanese screens depicting Kyoto, where many of the objects were made and sold, and a kimono with netsuke illustrating how these delightful fashion accessories were worn.
1/10/2010 – 27/02/2011
Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo OH, USA
Un peu de terre sur la peau – modern porcelain jewellery
One hundred and forty works in porcelain — compelling and forceful pieces on loan from eighteen artist from diverse backgrounds and nationalities — question the codes of ancestral artistic expression as a way to cast them within new perspectives. In contrast to traditional jewellery, metal work associated with the applied arts, contemporary jewellery since the 1970’s has become a field of experimentation at the frontiers of art, design and craftsmanship.
16/06/2010 – 16/10/2010
Fondation Bernardaud, Limoges, France
Enamel
Glass, Metal and Fire
A small selection of work by Ruth Ball; a well established designer enameller from Southport. Ruth is highly acclaimed for her innovation in enamel as well as her commitment to education work in this specialist area. The display focuses on the various methods of enamelling, demonstrating how traditional techniques can be used in a contemporary way. This includes a new painted piece of the Walker Art Gallery which will become part of the Decorative Art collection. ‘Enamelling’; a ‘how to’ book written by Ruth Ball, is also on sale in the Walker Art Gallery gift shop.
22/10/2009 – 31/12/2010
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, UK
The Enamels of the World. 1700 - 2000. From the Khalili Collection
8/12/2009 – 18/04/2010
The Hermitage, St Petersburg, Russia
Second International Jewellery Exhibition of enamelled jewellery
This Museum is dedicated to the Arts of Glass and Enamel. The exhibition will show the work of designers with art academy education, gold- and silversmiths, students from vocational schools, as well as trained or self-taught enamellers who have branched out into designing and making jewellery.
14/06/2009 – 4/10/2009
Stichting Museum voor vlakglas- en emaillekunst, Ravenstein, Netherlands
Edge of the Sublime: Jamie Bennett
Jamie Bennett is an internationally recognized metalsmith whose painterly innovations have greatly expanded the field of fired enamel into a medium for contemporary expression. This first-ever retrospective explores Bennett’s creative use and development of a variety of enameling and metalworking techniques to produce highly color-saturated imagery on signature brooches, necklaces and pendants. Bennett’s related production of enameled wall reliefs and other works on paper painted in oil and encaustic is explored in this exciting overview of the artist’s career.
22/03/2009 - 6/09/2009
Racine Art Museum, Racine, Wisconsin, USA
3/11/2009 – 28/02/2010
Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA, USA
Gems and stones
(For engraved gems, see Subject & Function/Uses)
All That Glitters: The Splendor & Science of Gems & Minerals
Did you know that every glittering ruby, sapphire, diamond, and opal has a history as old as the Earth itself? Discover how the same Earth processes that build landscapes produce dazzling gemstones and precious metals—even right here in San Diego County, one of the most famous gem-producing regions in the world. Witness a stunning selection of spectacular natural mineral crystals, exquisite jewelry, and works of art. See objects on display for the first time ever. Discover “first finds” in the world, found right here in California: benitoite, gold, kunzite and morganite. View stunning objects on loan from private collectors and major U.S. institutions including the American Museum of Natural History, Gemological Institute of America (GIA), Harvard University Mineralogical Museum, Newark Museum and National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution.
15/05/2010 - 8/04/2012
San Diego Natural History Museum, San Diego, CA 92101, USA
The Spirit of Stone
This event will bring to Lappeenranta an exhibition, work-shops and lectures, related to stones and jewellery. The theme of the event is the spirit, mythic and power of the stone. The Spirit of Stone is organized in cooperation with Kalevala Jewelry (Kalevala Koru) and South-Karelia Museum. It will present the prehistory of the stone and some of the best works from the international competition for art jewelry students. The exhibition also includes an invitation exhibition for jewelry artists around the world and a stone jewellery exhibition of Kalevala Koru.
8/05/2011 - 8/01/2012
South Karelia Museum, Lappeenranta (Fortress area) Finland
Carl Fabergé and Masters of stone carving. Russian masterpieces of semi-precious stones
The exhibition, comprising articles made from semi-precious stones, is devoted to the Russian art of stone carving and its most distinguished craftsmen, i.e. jewellers Carl Fabergé, Avenir Sumin, Ivan Britsyn, suppliers to the Imperial court, Alexey K. Denisov (pseudonym Uralsky), known as “the artist and poet of the Urals”, as well as other eminent jewellers and stone carvers of the XVIIIth - XXth centuries from Jeremy Pauzie to Louis Cartier, whose style and art of jewellery making in the early XXth century has been developing under the influence of the Russian school of gem stone carving. The display presents over 400 jewellery pieces made from precious and semiprecious stones, derived from the Urals, Siberian and Altai deposits. All of them reveal the highest level of craftsmanship, characteristic of manufacturers from the Imperial Lapidary Factories of Yekateringburg, Peterhof, Kolyvan, the firm of Verfel and the Ural workshops.
8/04/2011 - 24/07/2011
Assumption Belfry, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia
Earth's Treasures
This exhibition presents approximately 500 mineral, gem, rock, and meteorites specimens from all over the world. The exhibition space is divided into Zones of Amygdaloidal Cavities in the Huge Basalt Formation, the Beauty of Mineral Colors, the Beauty of Mineral Shapes, Minerals & Human Civilization, Minerals & Human life, and the Trend of Mineral Application. Each display case in the exhibition presents a theme for visitors to explore and a selection of amazing specimens that illustrate the subject, and each piece of the jewelry on display is accompanied with its gemstone and rough mineral, that offers visitors the chance to see vibrant specimens up close, learn an abundance of facts and discover what rocks and minerals tell us about Earth’s amazing treasury.
7/07/2010 - February 2011
National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung, Taiwan
From pebble to jewel
The geographic origin of the stones which are used in jewellery.
13/03/10 - November 2010
Musée du Marbre, Rance, Belgium
Facets of GIA
An exhibit of breathtaking jewelry, gems and minerals that brings to life the Institute’s groundbreaking role in gemological education and research.
14/05/2008 – 30/04/2010
The GIA Museum, Carlsbad CA, USA
Set in Stone: 2000 Years of Gem and Mineral Trade in the Southwest
Over the last 54 years, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show has grown enormously along with its impact on the local economy, but the lure of the minerals beneath our soil has generated trade for much longer than that. Gems, minerals, copper, and even sea shells and other exotic goods have been carried across the Southwest along well-established and well-worn routes for more than 2000 years. Set in Stone brings this long history to light, featuring 800 objects and audio-visual displays. With Native jewelry and mining tools from across the span of time, and with mineral samples, photographs, and recordings, the viewer is transported on a journey of deep historical resonance along routes that trace how the quest for mineral wealth has shaped the identity of the Southwest. Designed to complement and coincide with the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, Set in Stone gives context and perspective to our community’s annual gathering.
until 28/02/2010
Arizona State Museum, Tucson, AZ, USA
Light & Stone: Gems from the Collection of Micheal Scott
This exhibition brings together more than 200 superb pieces, all carefully chosen by Scott to represent the quality and diversity of crystals and gems, as well as their stunning range of colour. Jewelery pieces, gemstones cut and unset, as well as modern interpretations of gemstones as art are all dazzlingly displayed. Among the exhibition’s highlights: a 9,000-carat carved quartz sculpture entitled Repose, depicting a nude male youth with a draping of 18 karat gold over his lap and a spectacular tiara entitled Queen of Kilimanjaro, featuring the world’s largest faceted tanzanite (242 carats) on 18 karat white gold, encircled by 803 rare tsavorite garnets and 913 brilliant-cut diamonds.
12/04/2009 – 15/11/2009
Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Toronto, Canada
The Nature of Diamonds
Discover the rarest and most dazzling gems from collections throughout the world as the exhibit explores the human fascination with diamonds and provides an in-depth look at them as a natural substance. Delve into their geological origins, learn how they are mined, explore their cultural significance in art, literature and adornment and marvel at their numerous uses in modern science and technology. From the volcanoes that bring these gorgeous crystals to the surface to the fabulous jeweled masterpieces created by man, discover the rich history of this amazing mineral.
8/05/2009 - 7/09/2009
Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX, USA
17/10/2009 – 28/03/2010
The Field Museum, Chicago, IL, USA
When stones speak
Precious stones do not speak only of themselves. All stones speak to the imagination but especially diamonds to dream! This may sound bizarre, but diamonds traditionally play a role in real or imagined (life) stories ... This is a unique exhibition project based on fabricated stories of diamonds or objects in which diamonds play a (main) role.
30/10/2009 – 16/02/2010
Diamantmuseum Provincie Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium
Diamonds: Mined, Refined and Designed
Diamonds is an interactive, bi-lingual (English/French) exhibit that explores fascinating aspects of these rare, highly-sought-after jewels. Visitors will learn about the forces that forged these gems billions of years ago, and discover the complex processes involved in finding, extracting and cutting diamonds. Also on display are exquisite examples of diamond jewellery, courtesy of Kline Fine Jewellery and Design of Edmonton. These magnificent pieces will illustrate the 'four Cs' of the diamond world - carat, clarity, cut and colour. Are there diamonds to be found in Alberta? Why are Canadian diamonds among the most valued in the world? Discover the answers and much more in Diamonds: Mined, Refined and Designed!
until 17/01/2010
Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Glass
Dual Nature-Contemporary Glass and Jewelry
This dramatic exhibition explores the parallel histories of glass and jewelry/metalsmithing which are deeply rooted in the Pacific Northwest, featuring works by eight emerging and established artists. On display are intricate metalwork inspired by botany, organic forms in paper and resin, architectural glass vessels, colorful micro-mosaic brooches, and reflections on cultural roots and identity.
15/05/2010 to 15/01/2012
Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
Ercole Moretti. Un secolo di perle veneziane
Ercole Moretti. A century of Venetian beads
A century of Venetian beads and precious handmade glass works by one of the most famous and ancient Murano Glass factories, the Ercoli Moretti & Bros, celebrating this year the one hundredth anniversary of activity. Among the works on display are the 'Rosetta' bead, famous all over the world, the Mosaic bead, the Millefiori and the well known Murrina, on display together with many other glass works, on the first floor of the Murano Glass Museum.
9/10/2011 – 6/01/2012
Museo del vetro di Murano, Venice, Italy
2000 year-old glass - Jewellery and everyday objects
This exhibition shows, largely for the first time, ancient Egyptian jewellery, Mycenaean and Phoenician beads, Greek Perfume bottles, Hellenistic mosaic glass and Roman Oil bottles, tableware and gold glass fragments 2000 years old. Glass manufacturing and glass art brought to life.
5/09/2010 – 13/02/2011
Martin von Wagner Museum, Würzburg, Germany
René Lalique and his art
A collection of art nouveaux jewellery designed by Rene Lalique, including sketches as well as the jewels themselves. With the participation of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, Portugal, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, the Lalique Museum, Hakone, Japan, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
16/09/2010 – 9/01/2011
Assumption Belfry, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia
Altino: Glass of the Venetian Lagoon
This exhibition is being held to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Museum, by organizing an event that highlights its glass legacy, in terms of archaeological artefacts, and at the same time, promotes and introduces glass to a wider public. Starting with the legacy preserved at the Museum, the objective of the exhibition is to provide a deeper understanding of glass techniques used during the Roman era and supported by the artefacts uncovered during the excavations in the area of Altino (both in the necropolis and the inhabited areas). The objects that will be displayed represent an important 'dictionary' of the techniques that were used and known at the time when Altino, with Ravenna and Aquileia, was one of the great ports on the Adriatic Sea. The exhibition will highlight the line of continuity between the ancient Altino glass and Murano glass, whose production has its roots in the forms and techniques of ancient workmanship. Around 400 pieces of glass are shown - jars, bottles, jugs, cups, glasses, plates, balm, but also jewellery (rings, bracelets, pearls, glass paste).
15/05/2010 – 30/11/2010
National Archaeology Museum of Altino, Altino, Venice, Italy
The adventure of glass. From the Renaissance to the twentieth century, between Venice and distant worlds
Renaissance masterpieces from Venetian museums, a cargo of sixteenth century pearls and glass recovered from the Croatian seabed, fascinating glass bead necklaces destined for the African market, and also Napoleon’s glass flute which was recovered by the English after the Battle of Waterloo will be among the magnificent collection of objects on display. A rich section will be dedicated to multicoloured necklaces of glass beads from public and private collections.
27/06/2010 - 7/11/2010
Castello del Buonconsiglio, Trento, Italy
Glas wird Schmuck 2010
The exhibition Glass in Jewellery presents the latest work of 24 jewellery makers from seven countries. Jewellery made of glass is now perceived as an art form, as "art that can be worn" in its own right, not merely as imitation of precious gems. The works currently on display represent a wide spectrum of colors, shapes and techniques. Two years ago, the first exhibition in which was shown exclusively glass jewellery was shown. Meanwhile, much has happened in the area of jewellery design with glass and there are surprisingly many new things to discover. In this current exhibition the variety of glass is wonderfully made visible again.
14/05/2010 - 9/10/2010
Galerie am Museum / Eisch Atelier, Frauenau, Germany
Glass Jewelry : An International Passion
The ancient art of making jewelry from glass has undergone a revolution. Today, artists from around the world are creating spectacular pieces, both wearable and purely sculptural, where glass in all its forms complements or even take the place of precious metals and gemstones. The artists in this exhibition employ highly sophisticated glassworking techniques such as blowing, flameworking, casting and sandblasting to realize their ideas. The results exploit the mystery, sensuality, color and reflective properties of glass. The 33 participating artists in this exhibition represent 10 different countries including Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Scotland, The Netherlands and The United States. This exhibition is being held in conjunction with the Glass Art Society 40th Annual Conference, which will take place in Louisville June 10 - June 12, 2010.
22/04/2010 - 17/07/2010
Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville KY, USA
Brilliant Impressions: Antique Paste & Other Jewellery
A glittering exhibition of paste and other jewellery dating from the golden years of the 18th and 19th centuries. Catalogue Antique Paste & Other Jewellery by Diana Scarisbrick, £30
15/06/2010 - 29/06/2010
S. J. Phillips Ltd, London, UK
Glass Beads of Ghana
Southern Ghana is home to sub-Saharan Africa's most dynamic and enduring glass bead-making tradition. For over 400 years, Ghanaian bead artists have been producing powder-glass beads from recycled glass to meet local demands of fashion and customary practice. Glass Beads of Ghana, the first exhibition to look closely at this distinctive art form, is drawn largely from The Newark Museum's own extensive collection, one of the few such collections in the world.
Until 21/03/2010
Newark Museum, Newark, NJ, USA
Small but perfect - new jewellery from glass, part II
Last year the Glass Museum held for the first time an exhibition of exclusively glass jewellery. It showed jewellery for which the artists had made some beads themselves, but also took advantage of processed fragments and fused glass items from old Bohemian beads necklaces and rings. The interest of visitors was enormous and the variety of the pieces shown impressive. This exhibition again shows jewellery, which consists primarily of glass, combined in some cases with precious stones and other elements. Sometimes it is playful and very colorful, sometimes rather strict and cautious. Again it becomes clear just how diverse are the opportunities for using glass and how different the ways jewellery designers deal with it.
11/07/2009 - 14/02/2010
Glasmuseum Immenhausen, Hesse, Germany
Glasswear: Glass in Contemporary Jewelry
This exhibition combines two of the most vibrant and inventive areas in the decorative arts today- glass and jewelry. This presentation showcases highly innovative works by 60 internationally renowned jewelry artists, representing countries as diverse as the United States, Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Japan, Australia, South Africa, among others. Many of the works will be seen for the first time as special commissions for this exhibition. Visually exciting works will exploit the expressive potential of glass to engage our senses and challenge our ideas of adornment and the values of materials. GlassWear has been produced in partnership with the Schmukmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany. It was made possible with a grant form the Art Alliance of Contemporary Glass. Organized and Circulated by Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY
13/07/2009 - 20/09/2009
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA
2/10/2009 - 3/01/2010
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL, USA
Organic materials
The magic of amber - amulets and jewellery from classical Basilicata
The exhibition shows 180 specimens in amber found in Basilicata, dating from the eighth to the fourth centuries BC, including small sculptures by carvers from the Greek cities of the Ionian, and the Etruscan cities of Campania, but also necklaces or belts of inestimable value. Myths, mysteries and legends accompany more than two thousand years history of amber, which are obtained with precious jewels and amulets. The Greek tradition maintained that the raw amber came from the remote and legendary West, perhaps because it came mainly from Italy to Greece, across the Adriatic. The spread of amber in Basilicata dates from the second millennium BC, so that a major fossil-guide can be used to reconstruct the archaeological history of the region. The exhibition also shows rare amber from ancient Macedonia.
22/07/2009 – 15/02/2010
Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
28/01/2011 - 25/04/2011
Das Römisch-Germanische Museum, Cologne, Germany
3/09/2010 - 9/01/2011
Italienisches Kulturinstitut, Zurich, Switzerland
Ivory in Bruges. Treasures from museums, churches and monasteries
This is an exhibition of precious and delicate jewels. The collection of ivory art works comes from Bruges churches, monasteries and museums. Most of these exceptional objects are of religious origin, but there are also a number of buckles and even an early hairpin. These unique pieces, some of which date back to the 12th century, are brought together for the first time in the medieval wards of Saint John’s Hospital.
29/04/2010 – 7/11/2010
Memling in Sint-Jan - Hospitaalmuseum, Bruges, Belgium
Perles de la Nature - « Du coquillage au bijou »
This exhibition is dedicated to natural products, in particular pearls of all kinds.
23/04/2010 - 23/09/2010
L'Aquarium-Muséum de l'Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium
Pearls
This exhibition has brought in some of the rarest pearls worth more than $100m from 24 collectors from round the world. The exhibition offers comprehensive tour inside the world of pearls, natural and cultivated, ending with the precious treasure. Adding glamour to the show are pearls of different size, colour and structure; from different periods of history; pearls of fame and those owned by legends; from different parts of the world and those from reputed collection. From the extraordinary Melo pearls to a Chinese Emperor robe, from the bags of pearls from the Qatar waters to the unique Nautilus pearls, from the French Art Deco jewellery to the latest creations by Chanel, the exhibition is a tour de force that the region has never seen before.
30/01/2010 - 5/06/2010
Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), Qatar
Plumes - Feathers !
From the middle of the 19th century, feathers were increasingly imitated on fabric with varying degrees of accuracy. These fabrics were allied in fashionable dress with hats incorporating actual feathers mixed with ribbons and precious jewels. Feathers have also featured in the ornaments of other cultures, from the Trobriand Islands and Papua New Guinea to the Apache and Iroquois of North America. This exhibition will show pieces from the collections of the museum, as well as from other museums and private colelctions. It will also include a presentation of the feather-worker's art, and an evocation of costumes and accessories from Parisian fashion houses.
16/04/2011 – 23/10/2011
Musée de Bourgoin-Jallieu, Bourgoin-Jallieu, France
Jewellery: Materials and Meaning. Jet and other Victorian materials
Curated by Lynne Glazzard, Whitby Museum's Artist in Residence, who will include a few of the pieces she has made during her residency. The exhibition will mainly showcase artefacts from the jet, ethnographic and social history collections of the Museum, and will have a number of themes or threads running through it. It will have a section on the use of different materials including at least one of the beautiful woven or plaited Victorian hair bracelets
30/03/2010 - 20/06/2010
Whitby Literary & Philosophical Society, Whitby, UK
Victorian Hair Jewelry
The Rosenberg Library Museum features Victorian hair jewelry as the January “Treasure of the Month.” Hair jewelry, whether handmade or professionally crafted, was popular during the height of romanticism and was a sentiment that characterized the Victorian era. These nineteenth century pieces were crafted as tokens of love, friendship or in memoriam of a beloved family member. Pieces often took the form of brooches, necklaces, and bracelets, and were made stylish in Europe by Scandinavian crafters and Queen Victoria. The pieces on display range in date from 1840 to 1880. The museum’s collection of hair jewelry was donated by Helen Ebert, 1968; Shelby Z. Mowat, 1975; and Mrs. Catherine D. Gauss, 1985.
January 2010
Rosenberg Library Museum, Galveston, Texas, USA
Beloved hair mounted in gold. Hair jewellery
Hair in culture and history - hair jewellery from the private collection of Nora Lettau. Everyone has it - more or less - but the knowledge of hair and its significance - especially for women, is now almost completely lost. Nora Lettau shows the importance of hair in history, folk tales, legends, the Bible and in other cultures. Hair has for centuries symbolised our social status, our beliefs and attitudes. Similarly, the processing of hair as wigs, hair ornaments and pictures, as well as a commercial product, which was as expensive as gold, is almost entirely forgotten. All this and more is shown through examples and objects during this special exhibition. A journey through the history of hair!
15/11/2009 - 06/01/2010
Sandelsches Museum, Kirchberg an der Jagst, Germany
Jewellery from hair - a forgotten barbers' art
The 19th Century was the heyday of artistically designed work made from hair. This jewellery was worn as a pledge and the demonstration of feelings and personal relationships. When two people were in love, it was symbolic to carry the other's hair with them. This exhibition tells the story of this forgotten art.
21/05/09 – 19/07/09
Dreieich Museum, Dreieich, Germany
Textiles
Bijoux textiles, au fil de la parure
Textile jewellery, the thread of ornament
While the word 'bijou' evokes the concept of precious materials such as gold, silver and gems, this exhibition presents an alternative vision of jewellery made from the complex interweave of threads of fibre or metallic tissue
15/10/2010 – 13/02/2011
Musée des Tissus et des Arts décoratifs , Lyons, France