Look at what's coming to the Victoria and Albert Museum!

[dkan 168]

Thanks Andrew for the link to the video and Nora for the informative post about the exhibition.

A week to go and I'll be able to attend the exhibition myself, can't wait!

DK

 

[dkan 168]

Came home after a nice day trip to London.

The Pearl exhibition was definitely worth the trip, and included some pearl jewellery of great historical significance. For lovers of jewellery on the grand scale, you will not be disappointed.

I did have a little smile when I realised they labelled two X-ray pics the wrong way round, and the rather sour tone when discussing China's cultured freshwater pearl industry flooding the market with cheap and mediocre pearls etc...

I did not buy the books or any of the merchandise on offer, just did not fancy them.

Compounded with a great toe-tapping, song-humming show that was Top Hat later in the day, I had a great day out.

I hope those of you who are planning to attend the exhibition would like it as much as I did.

DK

 

[GemGeek]

Thanks for the report. It sounds like the whole day was wonderful

 

[pattye]

DK,

Thank you for the report! Sounds like you had a fun filled and delightful day!

 

[dkan 168]

I am a big fan of tiaras, and the Rosebery tiara is one of the ones on show, along with the Raine Spencer tiara.

The one piece of jewellery that I found most interesting, is the small pearl drop worn by Charles I, which was taken off him after his beheading, or something like that. It is not as big in real life when compared with how it had been painted in portraits of the monarch in the past.

DK

 

[CLICLASP]

So we were at the VnA yesterday with Sheri to see the Pearls exhibition, and you know what? All of a suddain a lady came to us and said to Sheri :
" I love your pearls".
She was wearing dangling chandelier earrings of her own in white pearls and a 18/19 mm australian pearl as a necklace.
...
More later

 

[GemGeek]

Oh you tease! I can't wait to hear about the mystery lady!

 

[Lindaphillipsbong]

Sheri: were you wearing one of those big SS klonkers that you bought at the ruckus last year?

 

[pattye]

Hmmmm, 18/19mm WSS, yep, sounds like Sheri, doesn't it??!!

 

[la_corsetiere]

Hmmmm, 18/19mm WSS, yep, sounds like Sheri, doesn't it??!!

I was wearing a round silvery-white south sea pearl I got from ebay a while back, that Anna had made into an interchangeable clasp for me.

What a great exhibit! I was trying to convince Anna she needed to conspire with me to steal the giant abalone pearl fish, but she didn't go for it. I decided I definitely need to make a really fabulous art nouveau pearl tiara for the next ruckus, and perhaps to wear to the Saturday farmers' market. The exhibit catalog will be available through Amazon at a discount starting October 29, I believe.

So wonderful to have made true friends here on the forum. Not only did I get to see Anna last week when I was in Paris, I got to see Marianne yesterday when I was in Seattle for a steampunk convention! She was a horribly corruptive influence - forced me to spend hundreds of dollars at a gem faire...

 

[CLICLASP]

Sorry I have no really time to make you a tour at the exhibition, but some pearls that were exhibited in London were shown in Paris in 2007, and it was allowed to take pictures in Paris, so you can see Paris pearls exhibition here :
http://www.cliclasp.com/priv-pages/pearl_exhibition_paris_2007.html

I was particularly happy to see in London the Abernathy tay river pearl and Elizabeth Taylor ring and earrings (most perfects australian pearls, OMG) close to the Marilyn Monroe Mikimoto necklace.
I was frustated to see so little natural pearls compared to what I saw in Basel, well, I am too well fed

 

[Nerida]

I think I have just added a few days in London at the front of my late-January US trip!
The V&A is usually worth a visit in its own right... amazing place! Wendy - why aren't you heading there to go and have a look? It's in your backyard!!

 

[Marianne]

Maybe you can drag her over there while you are in London, Nerida. You know... just like I "forced" Sheri to buy beads We did have fun!

 

[CLICLASP]

There are 3 pairs of melo melo earrings from Hemmerl? that were one of my favorite pieces. This photo has been published, not the 2 others ...

 

[Marianne]

Anna, those are just gorgeous. What is the material surrounding the pearls?

 

[CLICLASP]

It is jade

 

[CLICLASP]

ANd there were this famous Fouquet abalone pendant, that Sheri wanted to take away !
This is an image that has been published and is public, but more fun to put it here than to put the link

 

[la_corsetiere]

ANd there were this famous Fouquet abalone pendant, that Sheri wanted to take away !
This is an image that has been published and is public, but more fun to put it here than to put the link

Hmmmmph...would have been even more fun to pin it to the front of one of my corsets...

 

[GemGeek]

That is soooo Sheri!

 

[CLICLASP]

More fun to see a photo that to go to the link,
so this is just a snapshot of the necklace of Mary queen of Scots, I think it is River Tay pearls, they have a very special glow, impossible to describe, there were also the Abernaty as I said, I am lucky to have a small brooch with Tay pearls, a white glow that has something "dark and sad", hard to explain, evocative of a cloudy sky, but captivating.
Very emotionnal to see it in real.