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
closing soon
fitzmuseum.cam.ac.ukShowcasing 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
Admission free
Edinburgh
Hidden Gems: Scotland’s Agates
nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-scotland/The deceptively simple exteriors of agates conceal an enormous spectrum of colour and texture. Discover how and why these beautiful semi-precious Scottish gems have captivated collectors past and present.
4/05/2018 – 6/01/2019
National Museum of Scotland, Exhibition Gallery 3, Level 1
Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF
Daily: 10:00-17:00
Admission free
London
Frida Kahlo: Making Her Self Up
extended to 18 November
vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/frida-kahlo-making-her-self-upThis 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 - 18/11/2018
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL
Daily: 10.00 – 17.45
Adults £15.00
London
Bejewelled: Badges, Brotherhood and Identity
freemasonry.london.museum/event/By wearing badges we can connect with one another and reveal something about ourselves. With their unique symbols and hidden meanings, this exbibition features over 150 stunning examples of masonic badges referred to as ‘jewels’. It is the largest public display of its kind ever staged in the UK. Including jewels from around the world, the exhibition sheds light on a long and celebrated tradition. Examples like the Egyptian-inspired Authors’ Lodge jewel and delightful Barraclough Plate jewel tell the story of freemasonry over three centuries. Whether made by Prisoners of War or for future kings, the beautiful craftsmanship that the jewels display is only matched by the story behind each one.
20/09/2018 - 24/08/2019
The Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Freemasons’ Hall, 60 Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AZ
Monday to Saturday 10am to 5pm
Admission is free
Oxford
Spellbound: Magic, Ritual & Withcraft
ashmolean.org/spellboundExplore the history of magic over eight centuries in this immersive and thought-provoking exhibition. The intriguing objects on display show how our ancestors used magical thinking to cope with the unpredictable world around them. They range from the fantastical and macabre (a unicorn’s horn, a human heart encased in lead), the beautiful and mysterious (exquisitely engraved rings to bind a lover and medieval books of ritual magic), to the deeply moving confessions of women accused of witchcraft. The exhibition asks us to examine our own beliefs and rituals, and aims to show how, even in this sceptical age, we still use magical thinking and why we might need a bit of magic in our lives. To illuminate the links between past and present, specially commissioned works by contemporary artists provide dramatic responses to the themes of the show, conjuring demons, flames and the scuttling of malignant spirits.
31/08/2018 - 6/01/2019
Ashmolean Museum
Beaumont St, Oxford OX1 2PH
Tuesday–Sunday 10am–5pm
Adults £12.25, Concessions £11.25
Worksop
The Portland Miniatures: JAR
harleygallery.co.ukJoel 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-wolfers105 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.
FRANCE
Paris
Le Trésor de Preslav
closing soon
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
Paris
Bagues d’hommes. Collection Yves Gastou
closing soon
lecolevancleefarpels.com/en/news/Yves Gastou is a key figure in the life of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris, a neighborhood where he has lived and worked as a renowned antique dealer for over thirty years. He created this collection of more than a thousand rings from varied origins and ages with accumulation, frenzy, relentlessness and risk-taking over the course of thirty years. For all its originality and personality, the collection carries with it the history of collecting which dates back several centuries. With antique rings from ancient Egypt, rings belonging to 17th-century doges or American bikers from the 1970s, the ensemble is as much a collection of ancient times as a modern collection. At the crossroads of old cabinets and modern collections, Yves Gastou’s collection of men's rings is a testament to the fact that curiosity has lost none of its timeliness or appeal. Male jewellery always echoes a social, political, economic and artistic reality. Much more than an element of adornment, the masculine jewel also represents an instrument of power assertion, a tool of communication and a fashion accessory. The function of male jewellery is necessarily affected by societal evolutions as is the relationship between men and coquetry.
5/10/2018 - 30/11/2018
L'École des Arts Joailliers
31, rue Danielle Casanova, 75001 Paris
Tuesday - Saturday: 12 - 19
Admission free
GERMANY
Berlin
Bijoux-Bijoux! Costume Jewellery from Coco Chanel to Christian Dior
smb.museum/en/exhibitions/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
Berlin
Die Krone von Kertsch. Schätze aus Europas Frühzeit
The Crown of Kerch. Treasures from the Dawn of European History
smb.museum/en/exhibitions/
Gold jewellery from the migration period found near the Black Sea, silver brooches and magnificent belts from early medieval graves in France, Italy, Spain, and Germany: a selection from the collection of Johannes von Diergardt will be on view again in Berlin for the first time in 80 years, returning to the city where they were displayed until 1934. Following the death of the collector and art lover, these works moved to the Römisch-Germanisches Museum in Cologne. Construction work in the Cologne museum now offers a pefect opportunity to present the treasures to the Berlin public again for the first time in many years.
19/10/2017 - 29/09/2019
Neues Museum
Bodestraße, 10178 Berlin
Daily: 10:00 - 18:00, Thursday until 20:00
Adults €12, Concessions €6
Bielefeld
Taschen und Schmuck - "Elegante Begleiter der Damen"
Bags and Jewellery - "The Elegant Companion for a Lady' "
closing soon
bielefeld.de/de/kf/museen_galerien/Ornate works of cut-steel and glass beads.
Ends 29/11/2018
Deutsches Fächer Museum, Barisch Stiftung (German Fan Museum)
Am Bach 19, 33602 Bielefeld
Wednesday and Thursday: 14.30 - 17.30
Adults €3
Manching
Die Bilderwelt der Kelten
The imagery of the Celts
museum-manching.de/
In the 1st century BC, the Celts inhabited large parts of Central Europe, but did not produce any written records. However, thanks to many years of research, Celtic culture can be interpreted through its everyday objects, which are often enhanced by ornate decoration. Starting from the abstract art of the late Hallstatt period, originating in the 5th century BC - influenced by suggestions from the Mediterranean and the Middle East - an independent Celtic art style evolved: humans and animals are represented as fantastic mixed beings. Floral motifs on jewellery, costume and everyday objects, figural ornaments and individual coin designs were created. They are impressive sculptures of the Central European Iron Age. The Archaeological State Collection presents more than 100 highlights in the Kelten Römer Museum at Manching, many of which will be seen outside Munich for the first time. This special exhibition transports the visitor to a bygone world whose art is both alien and fascinating today.
5/07/2018 - 27/01/2019
Kelten Römer Museum Manching
Im Erlet 2, 85077 Manching
Tuesday to Friday: 9.30 to 16.00, Saturday, Sunday and public holiday: 10.00 to 17.00
Adults €6
Pforzheim
East Meets West — Exquisite Treasures from the Aga Khan Collection
schmuckmuseum.deSince 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 €6, Concessions €3.50
Pforzheim
Unconfined Horizons. Jewellery from Humboldt’s Travel Routes
schmuckmuseum.deAlexander von Humboldt is considered one of the last universal geniuses. The thoughts and actions of the 250-year-old researcher laid many foundations for our current worldview. In his 90-year life, the world citizen made two major expeditions: through South and Central America and through Russia to the borders of China. Influenced by the ideals of the Enlightenment, he was convinced that there were only differences between people in terms of their education or culture, and that all were equally destined for freedom. "The horizons of his thinking were open", as the Humboldt expert Ottmar Ette points out. Real education for Humboldt meant to think things through together. His research areas were correspondingly broad. He owes his present importance to close scrutiny and scientific analysis, coupled with a profoundly humanistic approach. Accompanied by texts and images from the researcher's work, this exhibition displays a variety of artifacts and jewellery from his travels.
13/04/2019 - 8/09/2019
Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim
Jahnstraße 42, 75173 Pforzheim
Tuesday - Sunday 10.00 - 17.00 p.m.
Adults €6, Concessions €3.50
Pforzheim
Gold & Silver Jewellery and Vessels Created by Ulla and Martin Kaufmann
schmuckmuseum.deFor nearly 50 years, Ulla and Martin Kaufmann have been creating jewellery and objects: initially with abstract flower shapes, then classically modern in their use of form, in recent decades influenced by the study of sculptors such as Richard Serras or Eduardo Chillidas. Both are goldsmiths and silversmiths, together they have had a studio in Hildesheim since 1970. The central role of her work, with some surprising forms, is the forged volume. The exterior, interior and open spaces of her works always play with form and function. In addition to many awards, Ulla and Martin Kaufmann were last awarded the Bavarian State Prize for their project "Cubes in Motion" in 2018. This exhibition shows a cross-section of the rich work of the couple.
13/07/2019 - 31/10/2019
Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim
Jahnstraße 42, 75173 Pforzheim
Tuesday - Sunday 10.00 - 17.00 p.m.
Adults €6, Concessions €3.50
Pforzheim
A Newly Ordered World. Jewellery from the Napoleonic Era
schmuckmuseum.deNapoleon Bonaparte, whose 250th anniversary occurs in 2019, reorganized the European world in many ways. This provides the Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim with the opportunity for a special exhibition on the new type of jewellery and fashion that characterized the Napoleonic era. These are Classicism as the "Style of Revolution" and the decorative Empire style that spread throughout western Europe as far as Russia. The values of the Enlightenment demanded an aesthetic of reason. It met the taste of a growing, self-confident and educated bourgeoisie and defined all areas of culture - from architecture to painting, furniture, clothing and jewellery to literature and music. The visual arts created a spiritual aristocracy, breaking the tradition of an inherited nobility. In the course of the reign of Napoleon, the Empire style unfolded its representative splendour. With works by Chaumet, Napoleon's court jeweller, jewellery from his environment will also be on display.
13/07/2019 - 31/10/2019
Schmuckmuseum Pforzheim
Jahnstraße 42, 75173 Pforzheim
Tuesday - Sunday 10.00 - 17.00 p.m.
Adults €6, Concessions €3.50
Schwäbisch Gmünd
Impulse. 30 Jahre Stiftung Gold- und Silberschmiedekunst in Schwäbisch Gmünd
Impulse. 30 years of the Gold and Silversmiths' Craft Foundation Schwäbisch Gmünd
schwaebisch-gmuend.de/8763.php
In 2018 the Gold and Silversmithing Foundation of Schwäbisch Gmünd celebrates its 30th anniversary. In 1989 the foundation initiated various projects to promote gold and silversmithing. In addition to exhibitions, competitions and acquisitions, this included the establishment of a city goldsmith. Since 1989, a total of 15 renowned city goldsmiths have been guesting in Schwäbisch Gmünd with this award. Together with works by this year's 16 city goldsmiths, the exhibition brings together 70 pieces. The spectrum encompasses jewellery and objects, ranging from the traditionally enamelled brooch to unconventional necklaces made of a wide variety of materials, from the classic candlestick, coffee and mocha service to vessels which explore the limits of metal casting. Although designed individually and in their own time, the term Zeitgeist loses itself in the works: in addition to quality and creativity, they testify to timeless beauty. The exhibits come from artists, private and museum collections, and particular pieces, which were acquired by the foundation for the collections of the Gmünd museum. In addition, works from workshops, posters, books and other documents convey the intensity of the Foundation's activities over the past three decades.
15/04/2018 - 28/10/2019
Silberwarenmuseum Ott-Pausersche Fabrik
Milchgässle 10, 73525 Schwäbisch Gmünd
Tuesday - Friday 14.00 - 17.00 p.m, Thursday until 19.00, Saturday and Sunday 11.00 - 17.00 p.m
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
SWITZERLAND
Zurich
Perlkunst aus Afrika
Bead Art from Africa. The Mottas Collection
closing soon
rietberg.ch/en-gb/The exhibition on the aesthetic and meaning of beadwork focuses for the first time on women as artists. Whether in the shape of fine ornaments, impressive masks, or royal stools – bead art from southern, eastern and western Africa is admired for the delicacy of its workmanship and the diversity of styles. Manufactured in Europe for the African market from the 17th century on, glass beads are indicative of the early stages of globalization. However, glass beads never merely served decorative or ornamental purposes; the colours and designs also convey intricate messages about age, gender, and identity of the persons wearing the pieces. With the Mottas collection, an undisclosed treasure trove has found its way to the Museum Rietberg which both adds to and enhances the existing Africa collection. In the exhibition old beadworks are juxtaposed with contemporary positions from South Africa. To this day, this significant cultural heritage remains a source of inspiration for artists and fashion designers.
7/06/2018 – 21/10/2018
Museum Rietberg
Gablerstrasse 15, CH-8002 Zürich
Tue–Sun 10am–5pm, Wed 10am–8pm
Adults CHF 18, Concessions CHF 14
AMERICAS
CANADA
Toronto, ON
Emperors & Jewels: Treasures of the Indian Courts from The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait
agakhanmuseum.org/exhibitions/emperors-and-jewelsWhether they are gem-studded rings and cups, intricately carved dagger hilts and trays, or any of the many other glittering artworks on display, all the objects in this exhibition reflect the opulence of life at the courts of the Mughals and their contemporaries. As great patrons of the jewelled arts, which blended Central Asian, Persian, and Indian traditions, the Mughals contributed to a flowering of creativity and craftsmanship in India from the 16th to 19th centuries. Paintings from the Aga Khan Museum’s Collection, showing receptions and gardens, hunts and battles are displayed both as original miniatures and as spectacular enlargements, setting the scene for the jewelled artworks and revealing how passionate Mughal princes were about art and beauty, adorning themselves “with all splendour and magnificence,” both to feast and to fight.
18/08/2018 – 27/01/2019
Aga Khan Museum
77 Wynford Dr, Toronto, ON M3C 1K1
Tue, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun: 10am - 6pm : Wednesdays: 10am - 8pm
Adult (18-64) $20, Senior (65+) $15, Student $12, Child (6-13) $10
USA
Boston, MA
Past Is Present: Revival Jewelry
mfa.orgWhether 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
Boston, MA
Boston Made. Arts and Crafts Jewelry and Metalwork
mfa.org/exhibitions/boston-madeBold colour combinations of gemstones and enamels, foliate motifs, and designs inspired by historical styles, often with a certain glitziness—that is what defined the “Boston look” of Arts and Crafts jewellery and metalwork. Beginning as a reaction against the dehumanising effects of industrialisation, the international Arts and Crafts movement spurred a renaissance of handcraftsmanship in Boston at the turn of the 20th century. As part of this movement, the city quickly emerged as one of the most active and influential artistic jewellery-making and metalworking communities in the nation. “Boston Made: Arts and Crafts Jewelry and Metalwork” presents the story of this community over a 30-year period, from its inception at the beginning of the 20th century to the stock market crash of 1929 that signaled its decline. “Boston Made” is the first exhibition to focus exclusively on the Arts and Crafts metalsmiths in Boston and highlights the contributions of newly empowered women artists like Josephine Hartwell Shaw and Elizabeth Copeland, among others. While adhering to the ideas and ideals of the international Arts and Crafts movement, Boston artists developed a signature aesthetic that set their work apart from the broader movement. “Boston Made” brings together more than 75 works—including jewellery, tableware, decorative accessories, and design drawings—that illuminate the passions and philosophies of this interwoven community of jewellery-makers and metalsmiths. Among the notable works on view are a scroll brooch (about 1920) by Frank Gardner Hale, studded with gemstones and embellished with gold scrolls; a jewelled casket (about 1929) by Edward Everett Oakes; and a necklace (1910–18) by Josephine Hartwell Shaw. Arts and Crafts was a philosophy as much as an artistic movement, looking to the pre-industrial past for design and lifestyle guidance. Design was more important than opulence, and materials were selected for their aesthetic properties, rather than for their intrinsic value. These ideas melded well with Boston’s progressive intellectual community of the early 20th century. The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated book from MFA Publications (November 2018).
17/11/2018 – 29/03/2020
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.orgthis 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
Chicago, IL
Ornamental Traditions: Jewelry from Bukhara
artic.edu/exhibition/ornamental-traditions-jewelry-bukharaLocated in present-day Uzbekistan, the Emirate of Bukhara (1785–1920) was an important centre of Islamic religion and scholarship and a major oasis on the famous Silk Road that traversed Central Asia from ancient times. Some of the most magnificent examples of Uzbek jewellery come from the court of the last emir of Bukhara, Mohammed Alim Khan (1880–1944), where men and women dressed in embroidered silks, fine silver, and enameled jewels. Their jewellery served various functions, often simultaneously: indicating political status and wealth, signifying religious and spiritual practice, and marking important rites of passage or ethnic identity. This exhibition brings together nearly 50 jewelled objects from the Central Asian region of Bukhara — promised gifts from the private collection of Barbara Levy Kipper and her late husband, David — and rare ikat and embroidered textiles from the Art Institute’s permanent collection. The jewellery and decorative objects presented in this exhibition offer an exceptional experience of a rich and vibrant artistic heritage rarely seen outside the former Soviet Union.
30/06/2018 - 30/06/2019
Art Institute of Chicago
111 S Michigan Ave, 159 East Monroe Street, Chicago, IL 60603-6110
Open daily 10:30–5:00, Thursday until 8:00
Adults: $25. Concessions: $19
Cincinnati, OH
Mementos of Affection: Ornamental Hairwork in Jewelry and Portrait Miniature
closing soon
cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/exhibitions/special-features/This exhibition, on display in Gallery 213, will delve into the dual themes of why these keepsakes were created and cherished: love and mourning. These pieces are emblems of familial and romantic love that were personal records of family members, engagements, and marriage. Because hair does not decay it also came to represent a way to make the memory of deceased loved ones immortal. Mourning hairwork developed into an array of symbolic styles, from engraved Georgian enamel-work to scenes of a mourning widow at the grave, that served as a reminder of those who had passed away. In addition to these themes, there will be a section discussing how hairwork is done, including a sampler and tools.
27/05/2017 – 18/11/2018
Cincinnati Art Museum
953 Eden Park Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Tuesday - Sunday: 11am - 5pm, Thursday: 11am – 8pm
Adults: $12. Concessions: $6
Huntsville, AL
Louis Comfort Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection
hsvmuseum.org/louis-comfort-tiffany-treasures-from-the-driehaus-collection/A celebration of beauty, Louis Comfort Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection features more than 60 objects, spanning over 30 years of Tiffany’s prolific career. One of America’s most renowned artists, Louis Comfort Tiffany worked in nearly all the media available to artists and designers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries — glass, ceramic, metalwork, jewellery, and painting. Tiffany’s technical brilliance in a wide variety of media enabled him to convey his awe of the natural world through a range of objects, from common household items to one-of-a-kind masterpieces. He earned international acclaim for his artistic output, receiving prestigious awards in exhibitions across Europe and the United States. His work was enthusiastically collected by art museums and private collectors throughout his lifetime, and continues to be highly sought after today. This exhibition, focusing on Tiffany’s magnificent stained-glass windows, floral vases, lamps, and accessories, revels in the artistry and craftsmanship of the Tiffany artworks from Chicago’s distinguished Richard H. Driehaus Collection, highlighting masterworks never before presented in a comprehensive exhibition.
21/10/2018 – 13/01/2019
Huth, Boeing, Salmon & Haws Galleries
300 Church Street S.W., Huntsville, Alabama 35801
Tuesday – Saturday 11 - 5 p.m., Sunday, 12 - 5 p.m., Thursday 11 - 8 p.m.
Adults: $12. Students $5
Katonah, NY
Outrageous Ornament: Extreme Jewelry in the 21st Century
katonahmuseum.org/exhibitions/From the beginning of recorded time, jewellery has both articulated identity as well as heralded status. In recognition of the universal passion for and power of jewelry, the KMA opens the 2018 fall season with 'Outrageous Ornament: Extreme Jewelry in the 21st Century' In this exhibition, the KMA presents provocative work by internationally renowned artists which expand the boundaries, and our understanding, of personal adornment.
21/10/2018 – 27/01/2019
Katonah Museum of Art
134 Jay Street - Route 22, Katonah, NY 10536
Tuesday - Saturday: 10 am – 5 pm, Sunday: 12 pm – 5 pm
Adults : $10, Concessions : $5
Newport, RI
Designing for Doris - David Webb Jewelry
closing soon
newportrestoration.org/exhibit/designing-for-doris/The desire to fashion something new and fabulous from something old and cherished brought Doris Duke into David Webb's New York jewellery shop for the first time in November 1957. The resulting spectacular diamond brooch was just the first of many treasures that Duke would commission from David Webb in the next 12 years. In 1957 Duke also reopened Rough Point, her childhood summer home, after an absence of many years. Newport inspired her interest in another kind of renewal – the revitalization of the city's Colonial streetscapes and in 1968 the founding of the Newport Restoration Foundation. In both design pursuits Duke played a close personal role, and drawings allowed her to follow and respond throughout the creative process. Each of the thirty drawings in this exhibition tells the story of jewellery commissioned by Doris Duke (1912-1993) or the restoration of 18th-century buildings in Newport. They were drawn by the jeweller David Webb (1925-1975) and his staff of renderers or by architects employed by the Newport Restoration Foundation, and they all represent a transformation or reinvention of one sort or another. Tying them together is a common thread of practical beauty inspired by the singular personality of Doris Duke, for whom they were made.
5/04/2018 – 11/11/2018
Rough Point Mansion
Newport Restoration Foundation, Newport, RI
Museum Tours: Tuesday-Sunday. 75-minute tours depart every half hour, beginning at 9:30 and ending at 3:30. Last tour on Saturday is at 2:00 pm.
Adults : $25, Concessions : $10
New York, NY
L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts
closing soon
lecolevancleefarpels.comAs part of Van Cleef and Arpel's brief L'ÉCOLE season in New York, there will be three exhibitions dedicated to the many facets of the jewellery arts: art in the form of sculptural works by Daniel Brush; connoisseurship marked by an exclusive viewing of a local private jewellery collection; and science and history in a display of replicas that are only possible due to L’ÉCOLE’s multidisciplinary research approach. Each exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue written by jewellery historians, curators and professionals in their field. Guides will be present at all times in each exhibition to offer tours to visitors.
24/10/2018 - 9/11/2018
Academy Mansion
2 East 63rd St, New York, NY 10065
10.00 am – 6.00 pm
Admission Free
New York, NY
Crowns of the Vajra Masters: Ritual Art of Nepal
metmuseum.orgThe 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.orgWhat 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
New York, NY
Fake News and True Love. Fourteen Stories by Robert Baines
madmuseum.org/exhibitionIt’s easy to fall into the trap of sensational headlines. Even careful and informed readers must work to resist the pull of fake news, a phenomenon currently dominating American media. In his solo exhibition Fake News and True Love: Fourteen Stories by Robert Baines, the Australian contemporary artist explores this issue through the lens of jewellery. By making up and “fact-checking” news stories to accompany his works, Baines manipulates what is accepted as truth to address the influence that fake news has on our perception of events. Robert Baines has shaped the fields of contemporary jewellery and jewellery history for over forty years. In 2010, he was named a Living Treasure-Master of Australian Craft for his significant contributions. In addition to teaching and maintaining his own contemporary jewellery practice, he studied ancient jewellery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and masterworks in several other international institutions. Through these experiences, he has essentially learned to brilliantly copy jewellery — from the ancient to the modern — making him uniquely suited to a show of this caprice.
16/10/2018 - 3/03/2019
MAD Museum of Arts and Design
2 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10019
Tue - Sun: 10 am – 6 pm, Thu: 10 am – 9 pm
Adults: $16. Seniors: $14. Students: $12
New York, NY
Focus: Wiener Werkstätte Jewelry
neuegalerie.orgThis exhibition brings together a selection of miniature jeweled masterworks by the leading artists of the Wiener Werkstätte (Viennese Workshops), including the firm’s co-founders Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser. It also includes examples by Carl Otto Czeschka, Maria Likarz-Strauss, Dagobert Peche, and Max Snischek. These wearable works of art were among the most coveted designs produced by the Wiener Werkstätte and many were made only once. An impressive array of Hoffmann’s square brooches, which have been favorably compared to Gustav Klimt’s canvases, are a highlight of the presentation. This show offers a unique opportunity to view Wiener Werkstätte treasures, which are of the highest quality and extremely rare.
4/10/2018 - 21/01/2019
Neue Galerie New York
1048 Fifth Avenue (at 86th Street), New York, NY 10028
Thursday - Monday: 11 am – 6 pm
Adults: $22. Seniors: $16. Students: $12
Palm Beach, FL
Maker & Muse: Women and Early 20th Century Art Jewelry
This exhibition features more than two hundred and fifty pieces of jewellery created in the early decades of the twentieth century. During this vibrant period, jewellery makers in the world’s centres of design created audacious new styles in response to the growing industrialization of the world and the changing role of women in society. Their “alternative” designs — boldly artistic, exquisitely detailed, handwrought, and inspired by nature — became known as art jewellery. 'Maker & Muse' explores five different areas of art jewellery design and fabrication: the Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain, Art Nouveau in France, Jugendstil in Germany and Austria, Louis Comfort Tiffany in New York, and American Arts and Crafts in Chicago. Works created by both men and women are exhibited together to highlight commonalities while illustrating each maker’s distinctive style. And in regions or movements that saw few women present in the workshop, the female remained unquestionably present in the mind of the designer. Not only did art jewellers intend to highlight the fashionable clothing and natural beauty of a woman during this period, they also often represented her within the work itself.
29/01/2019 - 27/05/2019
The Flagler Museum
One Whitehall Way, Palm Beach, FL 33480
Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Sunday - 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Adults: $18. Children under 6 free
Salem, MA
Empresses of China’s Forbidden City
pem.org/exhibitions/empresses-of-chinas-forbidden-city'Empresses of China’s Forbidden City' is the first major international exhibition to explore the role of empresses in China’s grand imperial era — the Qing dynasty, from 1644 to 1912. Nearly 200 works, including imperial portraits, jewellery, garments, Buddhist sculptures and decorative art objects from the Palace Museum, Beijing (known as the Forbidden City), tell the little-known stories of how these women influenced art, religion, court politics and international diplomacy.
18/08/2018 - 10/02/2019
Peabody Essex Museum
East India Square, 161 Essex Street, Salem, MA 01970
Tuesday-Sunday, 10 am-5 pm.
Adults $20, seniors (65 and over) $18, students (with ID) $12, Youth (16 and under) free
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.orgExtraordinary 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
Savannah, GA
Jewelry of Ideas: The Susan Grant Lewin Collection
scadmoa.org/exhibitions/2018/This travelling exhibition is organized by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, New York. The pieces, many of which were part of a recent gift from Lewin to Cooper Hewitt, exemplify innovative practice by leading designers and artists, showcasing works that make use of unexpected material, surprising form or radical developments in the field of jewellery making. Through brooches, necklaces, bracelets and rings, the exhibition demonstrates personal narrative, unique abstraction or social commentary embedded in each designer’s works. Included in the exhibition are more than 140 pieces, mostly produced within the last 15 years, with some dating to the mid-20th century. Both American and European influencers are featured, who turned to the music, art and theatre of contemporary society for inspiration for their wearable art, rather than the traditions of luxury jewellery.
22/04/2018 - 3/02/2019
SCAD Museum of Ar
601 Turner Blvd. Savannah, Georgia
Tues - Sat 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Thur 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Sun. Noon - 5 p.m.
Adults $10, Concessions $5/$8
Washington, DC
Good As Gold: Fashioning Senegalese Women
africa.si.edu/exhibitions/In the cities of the West African nation of Senegal, stylish women have often used jewellery as part of an overall strategy of exhibiting their elegance and prestige. Rooted in the Wolof concept of sañse (dressing up, looking and feeling good), Good As Gold examines the production, display, and circulation of gold in Senegal as it celebrates a significant gift from art historian Marian Ashby Johnson of over 250 works of West African jewellery to the National Museum of African Art’s collection. A catalogue featuring Johnson’s collection of Senegalese gold jewellery will be released to coincide with the opening of the exhibition. It will include new photography of key works in the collection and exhibition; trace the history of gold in Senegal, documenting the techniques, materials and practices of goldsmiths; and will reveal the inspirational and economic roles of women in commissioning, trading and fashioning Senegalese jewellery. Johnson has contributed an essay to the catalog on the history of gold in West Africa, Senegalese goldsmiths and their collaboration with women in the region.
24/10/2018 - 29/09/2019
Smithsonian National Museum of African Art
950 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20560
Daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Admission is free.
Washington, DC
Fabergé Rediscovered
hillwoodmuseum.orgDesigned 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
AUSTRALASIA
AUSTRALIA
Adelaide, SA
To Have and to Hold: The Daalder Collection of Contemporary Jewellery
artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home/Exhibitions/NowShowing/Daalder_CollectionIn 2017, the Art Gallery received a generous donation of 161 outstanding examples of jewellery from private collectors, Truus and Joost Daalder. The collection traverses 100 years of art jewellery and includes work by art nouveau master René Lalique through to Vietnamese-German contemporary artist Sam Tho Duong. Presented as a precious jewel box, the exhibition and its supporting publication invite an intimate encounter with works of art designed to be worn on the body and celebrate bold experimentation and rampant creativity.
9/06/2018 - 31/12/2018
Art Gallery of South Australia, North Terrace
Adelaide SA 5000
Open daily 10 am to 5 pm
General admission is free. Charges apply for some exhibitions.
Geelong, Vic
Masters: Art of the Precious Metal Object
geelongaustralia.com.au/nwm/exhibitions/Introducing Masters: Art of the Precious Metal Object – an Australian premiere exhibition showcasing spectacular design, exceptional works and authentic practice from eleven masters of contemporary Australian goldsmithing, silversmithing and enamelling. Guest curated by the award winning Gold and Silversmith, Victoria Edgar – Masters: Art of the Precious Metal Object will reveal the exquisite artistry and contemporary craftsmanship in jewellery making in Australia today. Learn from the Masters… only at the National Wool Museum.
14/09/2018 - 29/01/2019
National Wool Museum
26 Moorabool Street, Geelong, Victoria
Open daily 9:00am to 5:00pm
Adults AU$10, Concessions AU$6/$8
Perth, WA
Culture Juice - Beyond Bling!
artgallery.wa.gov.au/exhibitions/beyond-bling.aspCentred on 300 varied pieces from the State Art Collection from the 1800s to today, Beyond Bling! unlocks the vaults to showcase the best, the bizarre and the most sophisticated jewels in its historical and contemporary collections. Moving from bold and captivating wearable art to quiet and subtle, almost private, personal interventions, the show will change how you think about what jewellery is and can be. Beyond Bling! also features capsule displays from key collectors including major historic pieces of gold nugget jewellery from antiquarian expert Trevor Hancock, some timeless classics from Georg Jensen and by contrast some jaw-dropping displays from Perth's King of Bling, Shane Pavlinovich.
13/10/2018 - 14/01/2019
Art Gallery of Western Australia
Perth Cultural Centre, Perth WA 6000
Wednesday to Monday 10am – 5pm
While the Gallery is free to visit, we do ask all visitors to make a voluntary donation as you enter.