Current Jewellery Exhibitions

This list of current and forthcoming jewellery exhibitions is provided as a service to our members. We have no means of checking the accuracy of the information, and cannot take responsibility for any mistakes. Please check in advance before visiting an exhibition to avoid disappointment.

Please tell us here if there are any other jewellery exhibitions which we should add to this list, or if anything needs correcting. You can see lists of past exhibitions here.

UK

Cambridge

Designers and Jewellery 1850-1940: Jewellery and Metalwork from the Fitzwilliam Museum

Showcasing little-known treasures from the Fitzwilliam Museum’s outstanding collection, this exhibition will celebrate exquisitely-designed and often hand-crafted jewellery and metalwork from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Encompassing a wide range of styles, from the complex and intricate historicist and Neo-Gothic, the naturalistic Arts & Crafts, the sinuous curves influenced by the European Art Nouveau movement to the structural modernity of the 1920s and 1930s, the exhibition will feature over 70 pieces by 20 designers. The sparkling display will include jewellery by some of the finest jewellers of the time including Castellani, Giuliano, Robert Phillips and John Brogden, as well as a spectacular decanter by William Burges. There are important pieces of jewellery and silver by the most famous of Arts & Crafts designers, including C.R. Ashbee, Henry Wilson, Gilbert Marks and John Paul Cooper, and unique jewellery designed by the artist Charles Ricketts, which holds a special place in the history of queer art in Britain, having been designed for the couple Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper, known collectively as the author, Michael Field. Modern silver is represented by leaders of the field, Omar Ramsden and H. G. Murphy.

31/07/2018 – 11/11/2018

The Fitzwilliam Museum

Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1R

Tuesday – Saturday: 10.00 - 17.00, Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays: 12.00 – 17.00

London

Splendours of the Subcontinent. A Prince's Tour of India 1875-6

Dazzling works of art that brought the wonders of India to Britain at the end of the 19th century are to go on display in London for the first time in over 130 years, in an exhibition at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace. Exploring the historic visit made by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) to the Indian Subcontinent, Splendours of the Subcontinent: A Prince's Tour of India 1875-6 brings together some of the finest examples of Indian design and craftsmanship in the Royal Collection. During his four-month tour, the Prince travelled almost 10,000 miles and met more than 90 local rulers, who presented him with more than 500 items as part of the traditional exchange of gits. The predilection for jewels demonstrated by the Indian rulers ensured that the Prince came away with an abundance of jewel-encrusted gifts, from a magnificent gold and emerald sarpech, or turban ornament, to an embroidered crown set with diamonds, emeralds and pearls and featuring the Prince of Wales's feathers and motto.

8/06/2018 - 14/10/2018

The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace Road, SW1A 1AA

Open daily between 09:30 and 17:30 during the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace (21 July - 30 September 2018) and between 10:00 and 17:30 at all other times.

Adult £12.00, Over 60 £10.80, Student (with valid ID) £10.00, Under 17 / Disabled £6.00, Under 5 Free

London

Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up

This exhibition presents an extraordinary collection of personal artefacts and clothing, as well as numerous photos and paintings, belonging to the iconic Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, including a selection of her personal jewellery by contemporary makers as well as traditional Mexican work. Locked away for 50 years after her death, this collection has never before been exhibited outside Mexico.

16/06/2018 - 4/11/2018

Victoria and Albert Museum

Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL

Daily: 10.00 – 17.45

Adults £15.00

Worksop

The Portland Miniatures: JAR

harleygallery.co.uk

Joel Arthur Rosenthal, known as JAR, is celebrated for his intricate and extraordinary jewellery. The Paris-based designer makes work for an elite clientele; drawing from the natural beauty of precious stones, and combining their often vibrant colour with sculptural design. His finely tuned expert eye and exacting personal taste are second to none. For this exhibition, JAR turns his eye to The Portland Miniatures. He has chosen an intriguing selection of jewel-sized paintings. In addition, these miniatures are accompanied by some of his favourite pieces of jewellery from The Portland Collection. A highlight of the exhibition is a pair of rings that we believe were last together in 1786 – this exhibition will bring them together for the first time in over 230 years.

22/05/2018 – 31/12/2018

The Harley Gallery

The Courtyard at Welbeck, A60 Mansfield Road, Welbeck, Worksop, Nottinghamshire. S80 3LW

Daily, 11am – 4pm

Admission free

EUROPE EX-UK

BELGIUM

Brussels

Horta & Wolfers. Reopening of the Wolfers Frères jewellery store, 1912

kmkg-mrah.be/expositions/horta-wolfers

105 years after the official inauguration of the Wolfers Frères jewellery store in 1912, visitors will once again be able to admire the shop in its original form. To do this, the Cinquantenaire museum has cleared a room of approximately the same shape and area as that originally foreseen by Victor Horta in the building in rue d’Arenberg in Brussels. On the basis of a thorough historical study, the showcases and the counters will be reinstalled as Horta designed them in his time. First, it was necessary to take down the provisional arrangement of a part of the furniture in the museum and then obtain from storage the remaining interior elements. Even the original entrance doors will be reintegrated. Visitors will be able to walk around an identical reconstruction of the room, like elite customers of the past. The interior layout of the shop has been restored to the highest standards. The Cuban mahogany furniture has been cleaned and the original layer of varnish refurbished. The velvet interior furnishing of the showcases has been re-woven based on the original material. The patina of the bronze decorations has been refreshed. The harmony of the colours desired by Horta emerges once again: a sublime combination of the deep red polished mahogany, the dark green velvet, and the golden accents of the bronze decorations, all in total accord with the mauve colour of the walls. Thanks to this detailed restoration and refinishing, visitors will have the illusion of crossing once again the threshold into a Brussels shop for luxury goods.

29/11/2017 - 30/12/2018

Cinquantenaire Museum

Parc du Cinquantenaire 10, 1000 Brussels

Tuesdays to Fridays: 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m; Saturdays and Sundays: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Adults €10, 65 + €8, Students €4.

DENMARK

Kolding

Magtens Smykker
The Splendour of Power

koldinghus.dk

This exhibition showcases a selection of magnificent and unique Danish and European pieces to illustrate the ability of jewellery to capture our fascination and act as statements of shifting power structures over the past 750 years. The exhibition is framed by the notion that power structures are reflected historically in both jewellery design and architecture. Thus, in a contemporary museum context, exemplary jewellery holds the capacity to illustrate and convey the story of varying power relations, body and gender perceptions and stylistic expressions of power in a fascinating and eye-opening way. Across the variations in fashion over the centuries, jewellery has always had a close relationship to the human body where it is worn for others to see. Apart from holding significant economic and emotional value, jewellery is also embedded in a historical iconography and acts as a significant marker of status and personal identity. Insignia are a manifestation of the changes in power structures and society throughout the 750-year period covered by the exhibition. Hence, they represent an important and highly relevant category of exhibits well suited to illustrate the shifts and changes in power structures across the historical sections of the exhibition. The exhibition marks the 750th anniversary of Koldinghus.

6/05/2018 - 30/09/2018

Museet på Koldinghus

Koldinghus 1, 6000 Kolding

Daily, 10 - 17

Adults 125 kr, Students 65 kr.

FRANCE

Châtillon-sur-Seine

Torques et compagnie

musee-vix.fr/

Since the 19th century, the chalk of Champagne has delivered a considerable number of objects buried in Iron Age necropolises, that have helped successive generations of archaeologists to forge shared references to build and rebuild the image of the Gauls. This exhibition hoghlights the most characteristic of Gallic jewels, the torc.

8/03/2018 - 16/09/2018

Musée du Pays Châtillonnais

14 rue de la libération, 21400 Châtillon-sur-Seine

Daily 10 am to 5:30 pm. (closed Tuesday from September to June)

Adults €7, Concessions €3.50

Paris

De Calder à Koons, bijoux d’artistes. La collection idéale de Diane Venet

closing soon

madparis.fr/en/exhibitions

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs is presenting some of the most beautiful jewellery designed by famous artists such as Picasso and Jeff Koons. Named after jewellery collector Diane Venet’s book and featuring pieces on loan from her, this unusual exhibition displays some 250 items of jewellery including necklaces, earrings and brooches designed by the likes of Alexander Calder, Max Ernst, Salvador Dali, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Roy Lichtenstein, Louise Bourgeois and Anish Kapoor. These miniature masterpieces are arranged thematically, and in chronological order.

7/03/2018 - 3/07/2018

MAD - Musée des Arts Décoratifs

107 rue de Rivoli - 75001 Paris

Tuesdays to Sundays 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Adults €11, Concessions €8.50

Paris

Le Trésor de Preslav

mini-site.louvre.fr/

As part of the Bulgarian presidency of the European Union, the Louvre Museum is hosting an exhibition dedicated to the "Trésor de Preslav". The treasure was unearthed in 1978 near Preslav, capital of the first Bulgarian kingdom which converted to Christianity in 864 and was overthrown by the Byzantines in 1018. It is the largest discovery ever made of Byzantine princely medieval jewellery.

27/06/2018 - 5/11/2018

Musée du Louvre

99 rue de Rivoli - Entrée par la Pyramide, 75001 Paris

Wednesday to Monday: 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Wednesday and Friday until 9.45pm

Adults €15, Under-18 free

GERMANY

Bendorf-Sayn

Preußens Schwarzer Glanz
Prussia's Black Brilliance

rheinisches-eisenkunstguss-museum.de/

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Sayner Eisenkunstguss-Produktion in 1817/1818, modelled on its "sister companies" in Gleiwitz (now Gliwice, Poland) and Berlin, the establishment of the Sayn 1818 office and the appointment of Karl Ludwig Althans, mechanical engineer and architect of the cast iron Gießhalle, the Rheinische Eisenkunstguss Museum, in cooperation with the Schell Collection at Graz, the Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin and the Association of International Friends of Cast Iron Art, presents a special exhibition of outstanding pieces of 'Berlin Iron', produced in the Royal Prussian foundries of Gleiwitz, Berlin and Sayn, and the private foundries of Devaranne, Meves and Geiß.

14/06/2018 - 16/10/2018

Rheinisches Eisenkunstguss-Museum

Schloss Sayn, Abteistraße 1, 56170 Bendorf-Sayn

March - October: daily 10.00-18.00

Adults €5, Concessions €3.50

Berlin

Bijoux-Bijoux! Costume Jewellery from Coco Chanel to Christian Dior

smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/

Apparel and jewellery have always been inextricably linked, playing off of and inspiring each other, and costume jewellery – originally made from base or semi-precious materials for serial and thus inexpensive production – is now considered an indispensable complement to high fashion. Until the mid-20th century major production centres included Idar-Oberstein (Germany) and Jablonec (Bohemia), and after World War II Neugablonz (Germany), and Providence, Rhode Island in the United States. Here, jewellery was and continues to be designed as well as manufactured in large production facilities. The exhibition has been developed in collaboration with Gisela Wiegert, one of the most prominent German collectors of costume jewellery. Wiegert has been passionately and knowledgeably collecting high-quality costume jewellery for over 30 years, and has generously provided the most significant and beautiful pieces of her opulent collection to the Kunstgewerbemuseum for the exhibition. The presentation in the fashion gallery provides the unique opportunity to juxtapose fashion and costume jewellery and thus suitably portray the critical importance of jewellery in fashion.

11/10/2018 - 27/01/2019

Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin

Matthäikirchplatz, 10785 Berlin

Tuesday - Friday: 10:00 - 18:00, Saturday - Sunday: 11:00 - 18:00

Adults €8, Concessions €4

Braunschweig

Eva's Beauty Case:Schmuck und Styling im Spiegel der Zeiten
Jewellery and styling Through the Ages

3landesmuseen.de

What is beauty? People have been asking this question since ancient times. This special exhibition picks up this epoch-and cross-cultural theme and shows, based on various treasures from "Eva's Beauty Case", how diverse a definition of beauty can be. Objects from the Stone Age are juxtaposed with testimonies of the present and illustrate on the one hand the change of ideals of beauty and on the other hand the continuity of certain ideas. Jewellery of all kinds, but also the most diverse utensils and applications, which should help our bodies to become more beautiful, are in the centre of the exhibition conceived by the LVR-Landesmuseum Bonn. Visitors can experience precious jewellery, exciting hairstyles or extravagant perfumes. At media and hands-on stations, for example, they can turn themselves virtually into Nefertiti, a 19th-century nobleman, or a Neanderthal.

22/02/2018 - 12/08/2018

Braunschweigisches Landesmuseum

Burgplatz 1, 38100 Braunschweig

Tue - Sun: 10:00 - 17:00

Adults €7, Concessions €3-5

Pforzheim

East Meets West — Exquisite Treasures from the Aga Khan Collection

schmuckmuseum.de

Since classical antiquity, the mutual fascination between the Orient and the Occident has repeatedly brought about new art forms. In the Art Deco period, for example, exotic ornamental designs and calligraphies from China, Japan or the Middle East lent themselves perfectly to fulfilling people’s desire for decorative and unusual luxury. Also, the 1920s were characterized by technological progress and rapid societal changes, both of which were reflected in the jewellery and the arts of that era in the shape of exuberantly exotic ornamentation and colours, wedded to clearcut shapes and austere materials. The vanity and cigarette cases, clocks and watches, plus the pieces of jewellery, from the Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan Collection bear eloquent witness to this. The collection originated when, one Christmas, the Prince gave his wife a superbly ornamented case by Cartier as a gift. This was the beginning of what evolved into a comprehensive collection comprising creations by Van Cleef & Arpels, Bulgari, Boucheron, Lacloche Frères and the selfsame Cartier company, all of which evoke associations with glamorous dinner parties in exotically decorated apartments or smoky night clubs.

5/05/2018 - 6/01/2019

Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim

Jahnstraße 42, 75173 Pforzheim

Tuesday - Sunday 10.00 - 17.00 p.m.

Adults €3, Concessions €1.50

ITALY

Vicenza

Jewellery by Gio’ Pomodoro. The sign and the Ornament

museodelgioiello.it/en/temporary-exhibitions/

From his first jewellery items in the 1950s, with which he took part at the Venice Bienniele in 1956, Maestro Gio’ Pomodoro (Orciano di Pesaro 1930 - Milan 2002) developed his gold art production autonomously and constantly over the decades, often in preparation of the results of his sculptures, for which he is universally famous. Exploring the potential of shape and material, even as far back as 1953, Gio’ was already applying the extremely ancient technique of casting gold in cuttlebones, carved in the negative, thus obtaining particular textures on the surfaces, enhancing an extraordinary decorative element. The various types of gold, pink and white, the purposefully moderated inclusion of precious stones, the white gold edging and upside-down border settings characterized his jewellery, which proclaimed a strong organic component and expressed a shift from the figurative to the informal.

22/03/2018 - 2/09/2018

Museo del Gioiello

Piazza dei Signori, 36100 Vicenza

Tuesday - Friday 15.00 – 19.00, Saturday & Sunday 11.00 – 19.00

Adults €6, Concessions €4

RUSSIA

Moscow

Jewellery Art of BVLGARI

kreml.ru/en-Us/exhibitions/

For the first time in Russia the Moscow Kremlin Museums will hold a retrospective exhibition, presenting pieces of high jewellery art by world-known Italian Maison BVLGARI, which history dates back more than a hundred and thirty years. Over four hundred unique pieces of high-end jewellery from the BVLGARI Heritage Collection as well as pieces from the private collections from around the globe will be on display at two exhibition halls of the Kremlin museums — the Exhibition Hall of the Assumption Belfry and the Exhibition Hall of the Patriarch’s Palace.

7/09/2018 – 13/01/2019

The Moscow Kremlin Museums

103132 Russia, Moscow, Kremlin

Friday - Wednesday 10.00 - 17.00

Adults ₽ 500, Children under 16 Free

AMERICAS

USA

Albuquerque, NM

American Jewelry from New Mexico

cabq.gov/culturalservices/albuquerque-museum/

Jewellery making in New Mexico has always been about innovation, with artists celebrating new materials and techniques which, in the hands of master craftspeople, become instant traditions. For millennia, startlingly new materials including abalone shell, turquoise, silver, mother of pearl, gold, glass, Bakelite, Lucite, apatite, tungsten, bottle caps, and diamonds have been introduced, adopted, and elevated to idiosyncratic modes of exemplary expression. This major travelling exhibition with accompanying book published by the Museum of New Mexico Press, surveys, through approximately 300 spectacular objects, all aspects of jewellery adornment from prehistory to the present. Rather than focus on a single culture group, individual artist, time period, or medium as have most jewellery exhibitions and publications, American Jewelry from New Mexico tells the stories of diverse heritages simultaneously, as artists live, in concert, trade, and adaptation with their neighbours.

2/06/2018 – 14/10/2018

Albuquerque Museum

2000 Mountain Rd NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104

Tuesdays - Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m

Fees apply

Boston, MA

Past Is Present: Revival Jewelry

mfa.org

Whether by directly copying or selectively choosing motifs to reinterpret, jewellers have a long-standing tradition of looking to the past for inspiration. The practice became popular in the 19th century, as designers like Castellani, Giacinto Melillo and Eugène Fontenay began reviving examples of ancient ornaments, newly unearthed in archaeological excavations. This exhibition examines more than 4,000 years of jewellery history through about 70 objects, including both ancient and revival examples. The revival movement is traced from the 19th to the 21st century, focusing on four types — archaeological, Classical, Egyptian and Renaissance. Highlights include an 1850s embellished gold brooch by Castellani; a Renaissance revival neck ornament (1900–04) designed for Tiffany & Co.; a 1980s Bulgari necklace adorned with Macedonian coins; and a 2002 Akelo pendant that emulates an ancient Etruscan granulation technique.

14/02/2017 – 19/08/2019

Museum of Fine Arts

Avenue of the Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115

Saturday – Tuesday, 10:00 am – 4:45 pm; Wednesday - Friday, 10:00am - 9:45 pm

$25 - Adult, $23 Concessions, Free Children 17 and under

Brockton, MA

Uneasy Beauty: Discomfort in Contemporary Adornment

fullercraft.org

this exhibition will bring together 75 examples of contemporary jewellery and costume that demonstrate the immense power of adornment to impact us physically, emotionally, and intellectually. Showcasing wearable work in various media from regional and national artists, it will explore the outer limits of comfort through works that constrict body movement, irritate the skin, make extreme demands, or touch upon sensitive cultural nerves. Uneasy Beauty is part of the Mass Fashion collaborative, a consortium of eight cultural institutions that aim to explore and celebrate the many facets of the Bay State’s culture of fashion.

6/10/2018 – 21/04/2019

Fuller Craft Museum

455 Oak Street, Brockton, MA 02301

Tuesday – Sunday 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, Thursday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm

$10 adults, $8 seniors, $5 students

Carlsbad, CA

Centuries of Opulence: Jewels of India

gia.edu/gia-museum-exhibit-centuries-opulence-jewels-india

This exhibit features 50 exquisite gemstone jewellery pieces and objects from India on loan from a private collection. Never seen in public, these pieces - including several from the magnificent Mughal Empire (1526–1857) - showcase more than 300 years of adornment from the 17th to the 20th centuries. The exhibit explores the distant sources of the diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and other gems decorating these pieces, their religious and cultural symbolism, the wars fought for them and the historical tradition of gemology in India.

13/10/2017 – 10/10/2018

GIA Museum

World Headquarters and The Robert Mouawad Campus, 5345 Armada Drive, Carlsbad, CA 92008

Cincinnati, OH

Louis Comfort Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection

taftmuseum.org

Opulently coloured stained glass, intricately patterned surfaces, and inventive metallic frameworks — these and other traits characterize the brilliant creations of Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933). A highly original craftsman and artist, Tiffany took natural forms as the primary inspiration for his lush decorative creations. His aesthetic, reinforced and extended by his team of designers, decisively shaped American tastes from the 1880s through the 1920s. This exhibition presents more than 60 stunning examples of Tiffany’s decorative genius, including vases, lamps, windows, furniture, and ornamental objects. They include such iconic objects as his stained glass plant-form lamps, iridescent blown-glass vases, and illusionistic landscape windows. The exhibition comes from the Richard H. Driehaus Collection in Chicago, one of the country’s preeminent collections of American and European decorative arts. After the exhibition tour, the objects will return to the recently founded Driehaus Museum, opened in 2008 in a splendidly restored Gilded Age mansion.

13/10/2017 – 10/10/2018

The Taft Museum of Art

316 Pike Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Wednesday - Friday, 11 a.m.—4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m.—5 p.m.

Adults : $12, Concessions : $10

Houston, TX

“Extravagant Objects: Jewelry and Objets d’Art from the Masterson Collection” at Rienzi

mfah.org/visit/rienzi/exhibitions-rienzi/

For centuries, jewelry and objets d’art—luxurious objects made of precious and exotic materials—have been sought after by royals, aristocrats, and the affluent to demonstrate status, wealth, power, and taste. From small, personal, functional objects to bejeweled adornments and extravagant sculptures meant simply to delight the eye, these creations reflect the artistic vision and innovations of their time. Extravagant Objects: Jewelry and Objets d’Art from the Masterson Collection features a dazzling array that reflects the eclectic tastes of Carroll Sterling Masterson and Harris Masterson III, the former owners of Rienzi.

18/11/2017 – 29/07/2018

Museum of Fine Arts Houston MFAH at Rienzi.

Rienzi, 1406 Kirby Drive, Houston.

Because of the unique and intimate nature of Rienzi, visits to the house and art collection are by docent-led tour only.
Wednesday–Saturday: 10 a.m. | 11 a.m. | 12 noon | 1 p.m | 2 p.m. | 3 p.m; Sunday: 1 p.m. | 2 p.m. | 3 p.m. | 4 p.m.

Adults : $8, Concessions : $5

New York, NY

Crowns of the Vajra Masters: Ritual Art of Nepal

metmuseum.org

The single most potent symbol of Buddhist ritual as performed in Nepal is the Vajracarya priest's crown. Five examples presented in this exhibition will create a cosmic field into which viewers will enter, encircled by paintings of ritual performance. The exhibition is occasioned by the recent acquisition of a superb early Vajracarya crown dating to the 13th or early 14th century; this will be joined by an 18th-century crown already in the collection and two others recently discovered in the Department of Arms and Armor. Bronze and wooden ritual utensils, Nepalese cloth paintings, and archival photographs of ritual enactment will complete the exhibition.

16/12/2017 - 16/12/2018

The Met Fifth Avenue

1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028

Sunday–Thursday: 10 am–5:30 pm; Friday and Saturday: 10 am–9 pm

Adults: $25. Seniors: $17. Children under 12 free

New York, NY

Jewelry: The Body Transformed

metmuseum.org

What is jewelry? Why do we wear it? What meanings does it carry? Traversing time and space, this exhibition explores how jewelry acts upon and activates the body it adorns. This global conversation about one of the most personal and universal of art forms brings together some 230 objects drawn almost exclusively from The Met collection. A dazzling array of headdresses and ear ornaments, brooches and belts, necklaces and rings will be shown along with sculptures, paintings, prints, and photographs that will enrich and amplify the many stories of transformation that jewelry tells.

12/11/2018 - 24/02/2019

The Met Fifth Avenue

1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10028

Sunday–Thursday: 10 am–5:30 pm; Friday and Saturday: 10 am–9 pm

Adults: $25. Seniors: $17. Children under 12 free

Philadelphia, PA

Woven Strands: The Art of Human Hair Work

closing soon

muttermuseum.org

A favoured folk art of the 18th and 19th century, hair art was a sentimental expression of grief and love, usually created by women whose identities have become anonymous over time. Human hair (from both living and deceased persons) was used to form flower bouquets, wreaths, braided jewellery chains, weeping willows, and painted scenes of mourning. Considered to be a form of portraiture, these were cherished tokens to preserve the memory of a deceased loved one, chart a vibrant family tree of the living, or to be traded as friendship keepsakes. It is rare to view such pieces publicly as they were created in domestic settings, for home display. From six private collections, the Mütter Museum along with John Whitenight and Evan Michelson have assembled an exquisite group of hair art and jewellery as well as accompanying materials that discuss the social expectations of Victorian-era mourning rituals that ruled 19th century society with strict standards.

19/01/2018 - 12/07/2018

Mütter Museum

19 S 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Daily 10am–5pm

Adults: $18. Seniors: $16. Students $13

San Francisco, CA

East Meets West: Jewels of the Maharajas from the Al Thani Collection

legionofhonor.famsf.org/

This exhibition will explore themes of influence and exchange between India and Europe through jewellery, jewel-encrusted jades, famous gemstones, enameled gold and other precious works of art. East Meets West will feature over one hundred and fifty objects made in India or inspired by India, ranging in date from the seventeenth century to the 1930s. Under successive rulers, Indian jewellery and works of art developed different characters, the Mughals arriving in the sixteenth century brought Persian and Muslim influences, the British raj in the nineteenth century imported European styles and craftsmanship, but in the twentieth century influences flowed in the opposite direction with Indian jewelry inspiring great European jewellery houses, such as Cartier, to make pieces in the Indian style.

3/11/2018 - 24/02/2019

Legion of Honor Museum

Lincoln Park, 100 34th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94121

Tuesday–Sunday 9:30 am–5:15 pm

Adults: $15, Seniors (65+): $10, Students (w/ valid ID): $6

Santa Fe, NM

Beadwork Adorns the World

internationalfolkart.org

Extraordinary how a small glass bead from the island of Murano (Venice, Italy) or the mountains of Bohemia (Czech Republic) can travel around the world, entering into the cultural life of people far distant. Glass beads are the ultimate migrants. Where they start out is seldom where they end up. No matter where they originate, the locale that uses them makes them into something specific to their own world view. This exhibition is about what happens to these beads when they arrive at their final destination, whether it be the African continent (Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa), to Borneo, to Burma, to India, Native North America to Latin America (Mexico, Bolivia to Ecuador). However, this exhibition is not actually about beads, rather it is about the working beads resulting in Beadwork, and what a collective of beads in a garment or an object reveals about the intentions of its makers or users.

22/04/2018 - 3/02/2019

Museum of International Folk Art

706 Camino Lejo, on Museum Hill, Santa Fe, New Mexico 87505

Tuesday - Sunday: 10 am – 5 pm

Adults $12

Washington, DC

Fabergé Rediscovered

hillwoodmuseum.org

Designed to delight and surprise, the treasures created by the firm of Carl Fabergé have inspired admiration and intrigue for over a century, both for their remarkable craftsmanship and the fascinating histories that surround them. Now, a special exhibition at Hillwood will unveil new discoveries relating to its own collection of Fabergé imperial Easter eggs and other famed works.

9/06/2018 - 31/12/2018

Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

4155 Linnean Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20008

Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm.

Adults $18, Seniors $15, Students $10, Children 6 and under free

AUSTRALIA & PACIFIC

AUSTRALIA

Canberra

Cartier: The exhibition

nga.gov.au/cartier/

Never before have so many incredible diamonds, emeralds and other precious stones been seen in Australia. 'Cartier: The exhibition' showcases more than 300 spectacular items, with loans from royal families, celebrities and the astonishing Cartier Collection itself, in exquisite settings such as royal tiaras, necklaces, brooches and earrings. The exhibition explores Cartier’s glittering international clientele that included royalty, aristocrats, socialites, and stars of the stage, cinema and music. Highlights include Dame Nellie Melba’s diamond stomacher brooch, the Queen’s “Halo” tiara, worn by Kate Middleton at her wedding to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Daisy Fellowes’ Tutti-Frutti Hindu necklace, Barbara Hutton’s imperial jadeite necklace, Princess Grace of Monaco’s 10.48-carat diamond engagement ring, Dame Elizabeth Taylor’s diamond and ruby necklace (a gift from her third husband Mike Todd which also doubles as a tiara) and a selection from the NGA’s exceptional Ballets Russes costumes. As well as an intriguing array of Cartier jewellery, timepieces and precious objects, the immersive exhibition will include a selection of original preparatory drawings, as well as portraits, historic photographs, film, advertising material, jewellery-making tools and equipment to provide insight into the history of Cartier.

30/03/2018 – 22/07/2018

NGA | National Gallery of Australia

Parkes Place, Parkes, Canberra

Open daily 10.00am – 5.00pm

Adults: $27.00, Comcessions: $25

Canberra

Lustre: Pearling & Australia

nma.gov.au

This exhibition delves into the gritty human story of pearling, weaving together Aboriginal and European histories to reveal insights into one of Australia's oldest industries.

23/02/2018 – 22/07/2018

National Museum of Australia

Lawson Crescent, Acton Peninsula, Canberra ACT 2601

Open daily 9.00am – 5.00pm

Free admission

NEW ZEALAND

Lower Hutt

The Language of Things: Meaning and Value in Contemporary Jewellery

closing soon

dowse.org.nz/exhibitions/

Precious things aren’t always made from precious materials—and jewellery is no exception. The intimacy of jewellery worn on the body gives us a unique way of showing who we are and what’s important to us. This exhibition expands on our associations with adornment: drawing out how ideas of value have changed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It features over 100 artists from Europe, America, Asia, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand whose work reveals how personal meaning develops from the often unusual materials and processes used in the field of contemporary jewellery.

24/02/2018 – 24/06/2018

The Dowse Art Museum

45 Laings Road, Lower Hutt, New Zealand

Open Daily 10am–5pm

Free admission

© Copyright 2018   The Society of Jewellery Historians   All rights reserved