Whether you’re in the mood for avant garde design, breathtaking gems, or historical treasures, here are some temporary exhibits of gems and jewelry worth a trip this year.
Bijoux: The Origins and Impact of Jewelry, through February 26, 2012, at Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT, examines the impact of jewelry on our culture and environment through jewelry from local and international private collections.
Anglo-Saxon Hoard: Gold from England’s Dark Ages, through March 4, 2012, at National Geographic Museum, Washington DC. On view are more than 100 of the 3,500 artifacts unearthed two years ago in English farmland by a metal detector enthusiast, the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold ever found. Dating to 650 A.D. and valued at nearly $5 million, the mostly military artifacts include elaborate gold and garnet sword fittings, decorative elements for helmets, crosses, and a gold strip bearing a Latin inscription from the Bible.
Plique-à-jour brooch by Marcus & Co., 1900, at The Forbes Galleries (Siegelson collection)
International Art Jewelry: 1895–1925, through March 17, 2012, at The Forbes Galleries, New York City. About 200 jewelry pieces from several countries illustrate the wildly creative period in decorative arts that led up to Deco, in all its sublime variations including Arts and Crafts (U.K., U.S.), Glasgow Style (Scotland), and Art Nouveau (France, Belgium, U.S.).
All That Glitters: The Science and Splendor of Gems and Minerals, through April 2012 at the San Diego Natural History Museum, focuses on the gems and minerals of California, such as tourmaline, orange garnet, benitoite and topaz, and includes a collection of 13 rare-gem butterfly brooches and a few treasures from Fabergé, Tiffany, Cartier, and Van Cleef & Arpels.
Gemstone Carvings: The Masterworks of Harold Van Pelt, through Spring 2012, at Houston Museum of Natural Science shows hand-carved quartz and agate sculptures and vessels by Harold Van Pelt.
Facets of GIA, through April 2012, at the GIA headquarters in Carlsbad, CA, shows a range of gems and jewels, from ancient Egyptian to contemporary.
Liberty pin by Gijs Bakker (Madeleine Albright collection)
Read My Pins: The Madeleine Albright Collection, December 13, 2011–March 4, 2012, at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA, then the Denver Art Museum April 15-June 17, 2012. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright’s collection of more than 200 brooches tells an intriguing story of American foreign policy, as she wore them to send messages to the foreign leaders and diplomats she met with.
Arline Fisch: Creatures from the Deep, through February 2012 at Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, moving to the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design, June to September 2012. Jewelry artist Arline Fisch combined her mastery of wire-weaving with blown air and lighting effects to create the illusion of an underwater world of sculpted, window-size jellyfish for this amazing traveling exhibit.
Jewels, Gems and Treasures: Ancient to Modern, July 19, 2011-November 1, 2012, at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA, will be the first exhibit in the new jewelry gallery, showcasing the breadth of the museum’s jewelry collection from ancient Nubia to present-day Bulgari. You’ll find pieces worn by Mary Todd Lincoln, rare Arts & Crafts designs, and a suite of 19th-century jewels made from taxidermied hummingbirds.
Related posts:
Jewels, gems and treasures: inaugural exhibit at Boston MFA
Frank Stella: stunning, not-so-wearable art
Man Ray’s jewelry by Gem Montibello
hello =)
if you haven’t already, also do check this great holiday art jewelry sale out!!! http://designintell.vandm.com/2011/11/art-adorned-custom-wearable-jewelry-art-works-from-three-female-artist/
thanks!!
michelle