Paris, City of Pearls Exhibition
We are all familiar with pearls. Sought-after since ancient times, they still inspire the great modern jewelers. But how many people know that they were at the heart of an intense trade between the Gulf and France from the late 19th to the mid-20th century? How many remember that they were at the center of the luxury industry and Parisian culture for decades?
Organized by L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, the exhibition Paris, City of Pearls, from November 21st, 2024 until June 1st, 2025, recounts the forgotten history of this amazing artistic, commercial and human adventure.
From the late 1860s to the late 1930s – a period corresponding to France’s Third Republic – a majority of the pear ls fished in the Gulf were gradually brought to France, sold in Paris and mounted by the top jewelers of the Place Vendôme. Account books, telegrams, archive documents and period photographs testify to the scale of this trade. Routes across land, sea and then sky were opened, major figures emerged in both the Gulf and France, fortunes were made, and the pearl trade sparked an unprecedented economic boom. As new trade routes were developed, links were forged between people and cultures – from the France of the first third of the 20th century to the Gulf countries, referred to by the French at the time as the “pearl coast.”
As well as celebrating almost a century of shared history, this exhibition sets out to show the extent to which both natural pearls and the cultured pearls that arrived in France in the 1920s inspired not only Parisian jewelers but also artists in the broader sense. They all seem to have been driven by the same passion for pearls, whatever their means of artistic expression – opera, painting, photography, poster design, illustration or cinema – to the point that the pearl became one of the symbolic forms of the Roaring Twenties.
Seeking to penetrate the final mysteries of these biominerals, the exhibition embraces a crossover of history, art and science. This wide-ranging vision of knowledge is at the heart of L’ÉCOLE’s mission. Founded in 2012 with support from Van Cleef & Arpels, L’ÉCOLE invites the public to learn about the history of jewelry and the skills involved, and about gems, through classes, talks, publications and exhibitions, in Paris and elsewhere in the world.
Through supporting research and enabling the re discovery of this extraordinary Parisian pearl saga, L’ÉCOLE , School of Jewelry Arts confirms its determination to contribute not only to an awareness of the culture of jewelry, but also to deepening knowledge.
The exhibition “Paris, City of Pearls” presents about one hundred jewelry pieces and some fifty drawings and iconographic documents from around twenty of the most pres tigious lenders, such as Paris Museum of Decorative Arts (Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris), the Petit Palais - Fine Arts Museum of Paris, heritage collections of the Maisons Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier and Fred, or the exceptional Albion Art private collection.
After a gemological introduction on the origins of pearls, the exhibition traces the history of jewelers’ passion for pearls from the late nineteenth century to the present day through 6 parts:
I. The pearl and its secrets
II. Pearls and the East
III. Conquering the market circa 1900
IV. The pearl as a symbol of modernity : the 1910s
V. 1925: Pearl mania in Paris
VI. The Parisian pearl: past & present
The exhibition’s scenography, designed with a sensory approach, awakens visitors’ senses – sight, hearing, but also touch. In addition, a visual guide giving access to an additional iconography of about 80 drawings, illustrations and other visuals extends the visitors’ immersion in the world of pearls and his discovery of the imaginary around the pearl from the Belle Époque until today.