History of Pearls in Paris at the School of Jewelry Arts on blvd Montparnesse – Paris, Capitale De La Perle
I had the good fortune to get to see this exhibition on St. Stephens Day 24. The Ecole des Arts Joaillers is on a busy Parisien street blvd Montmatre where little arcades off the street with emmensely cute merchandise collide with other exhibitions and also is home to the Irish pub O Sullivans (which was closed) across the way.
The exhibition centres around the influx of cultured pearls in to Paris during the 1900s to 1925/29 – when Paris became the hub of the white, lustered Pearl trade on Rue Lafayette. Central to this was the figure of Leonard Rosenthal, who alongside his brothers imported pearls from Bahrain and the Persian Gulf.
It is a wonderful exhibition with examples of jewelry from Boucheron, Lalique, Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Vevers and George Fouquet. With Art Nouveau illustrations by Georges Barbier. Admission is free, but you have to book in advance.