Chaumet Goes To Tokyo
For the first time in Tokyo, ‘The Worlds of Chaumet’, an exhibition of 300 extraordinary creations by the famous French Maison, from XVIII century to present day
From 28th June to 17th September, the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum in Tokyo will be hosting ‘The Worlds of Chaumet. The art of jewelry since 1780.’ exhibition. 300 creations from XVIII century to present day comprising jewelry, works of art, drawings and sketches. A vast collection of rare beauty which includes a series of unique pieces from 40 private collections and 15 museums.
The exhibition will be divided into several themed sections offering an authentic journey through the most significant items of jewelry that have written the company's history. From the Napoleonic era, with the marvelous jewelry that Napoleon I gave to his wife, Maria Luisa, on their wedding day, to the unmistakable tiaras that became the symbol of Chaumet's high jewelry, and on to the Japanese influences dating back to the early twentieth century. The artistic liaison between Japan and France began way back in 1873, when master engraver, Philippe Burty, coined the term Japonisme to indicate the attraction and interest that French painters had in the Rising Sun's art. In the nineteenth century, Japan opened its doors to the world and its culture reached and infiltrated various worlds, including Chaumet jewelry design during that period.
The exhibition will be divided into several themed sections offering an authentic journey through the most significant items of jewelry that have written the company's history. From the Napoleonic era, with the marvelous jewelry that Napoleon I gave to his wife, Maria Luisa, on their wedding day, to the unmistakable tiaras that became the symbol of Chaumet's high jewelry, and on to the Japanese influences dating back to the early twentieth century. The artistic liaison between Japan and France began way back in 1873, when master engraver, Philippe Burty, coined the term Japonisme to indicate the attraction and interest that French painters had in the Rising Sun's art. In the nineteenth century, Japan opened its doors to the world and its culture reached and infiltrated various worlds, including Chaumet jewelry design during that period.
Nowadays, the link between the Japanese and French capitals is further consolidated through the work of Henry Loyrette, Honorary President of the Louvre Museum, who stated that «Japan is a country of great culture, with which France has enjoyed a long-term relationship that is constantly renewed». Together with Akiya Takahashi-San, Director of the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, who recognizes in Chaumet «A great symbolic name, not only in the context of Parisian jewelry but also relating to the cultural and aesthetic development of France». With their words, the exhibition curator, H. Loyrette and A. Takahashi-San, underline and acknowledge the artistic and cultural influences that have marked the two countries over the years and that are also reflected in the architecture of the host building. The Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum was, in fact, the first, late twentieth-century building in Tokyo's Marunochi district to be built in western style.