Imperial Splendour exhibition by Chaumet
Chaumet's jewels get their Parisian spirit to the Forbidden city
Imperial Splendour is the name of the new Chaumet exhibition, which brings the Parisian art de vivre in Beijing. Running until July 2 in the Palace Museum of the Forbidden city, the exposition unveils all the French Heritage of the Maison in a dialogue with history and its most important movements, from the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 21st. The art of jewellery by Chaumet is told in a dreaming travel which gets us back to the reign of Napoleon III and Eugenie, a moment of glory for the Maison, going to the Romantic period till the Belle Epoque to arrive at our days with the latest creation made in collaboration with Central Saint Martin School, the “Vertiges” tiara: a new piece which projects the spectacular past of Chaumet into a promising future.
Chaumet Empress Marie-Louise’s micro-mosaic parure for the day, 1810
“When I discovered Chaumet’s creations two years ago, I felt an immense emotion. The pieces have never seemed inert to me, I saw them as alive. I was struck by the radiance and beauty of all these extraordinary jewellery pieces that had been created through the ages, by their origins and history. I imagined them moving towards us since the dawn of time. Shivering and trembling on the heads of those who wore them. Jewels transformed into actors.” Commented the scenographer of the exhibition Richard Peduzzi, famous for his sets for the theatre, opera and cinema.
Chaumet “Vertiges” tiara by designer Scott Armstrong
