Description
Since the founding of the Maison Chaumet in Paris in 1780, each generation of its jewellers has looked to the natural world for inspiration, dreaming up ruby-encrusted grapevines, delicate laurel-wreath tiaras, striking diamond starbursts and a beguiling array of jewelled animals - from birds and butterflies to snakes, lions and even bats - that embodied the spirit of the age.
As tools for researching and developing ideas, drawings are an essential first step in the creation of jewellery pieces and reveal little-known aspects of the design process. These beautiful and inventive drawings from the Chaumet archives, many published here for the first time, are presented in thematic chapters (Flowers, Trees and Plants, Bestiary, Universe), while essays by curator Gaelle Rio offer a concise art-historical perspective.
A visually fascinating compendium, this unique book will delight all lovers of jewelry, art and nature.
A dazzling celebration of the nature-themed drawings created by Parisian high-jewelry house Chaumet from the 18th century to today
About the Author
Gaelle Rio is Director of the Musee de la Vie Romantique in Paris. She specializes in 19th-century art and in her previous position at the Petit Palais curated a number of exhibitions, including 'French Jewelry from the Petit Palais', 'The Art of Pastel, from Degas to Redon' and 'Paris 1900'. Marc Jeanson is former director of the National Herbarium at the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle in Paris. He is currently the Botanical Director of the Jardin Majorelle in Marrakesh, Morocco.
Book Information
ISBN 9780500023815
Author Gaelle Rio
Format Hardback
Page Count 256
Imprint Thames & Hudson Ltd
Publisher Thames & Hudson Ltd
Weight(grams) 1860g