L’École des Arts Joailliers has taken up quarters at the Hôtel de Mercy-Argenteau on boulevard Montmartre in the 9th arrondissement. For its inauguration, the School is presenting a new exhibition, this time focused on the stage jewelry of the Comédie-Française. Designed to create illusion, worn by actors through the ages, they are no less precious for their attention to detail and exquisite refinement. A look behind the scenes at the Comédie-Française…
Like a theatrical play, the exhibition is divided into acts. The first two plunge visitors into the darkness, backstage, where they discover the beginnings of stage jewelry. Indeed, before the end of the 18th century, the jewelry worn by actors came mainly from their personal collections, and was of no real interest to the play.
It was only at this time that the Comédie-Française began to supply jewelry related to the subject, as seen in the various pieces on display in the second room.
During the First Empire, the jewelry designed by the Comédie-Française obviously met the stylistic standards of the time, as evidenced by this magnificent antique-style sword, or this laurel crown for the role of Nero in Racine’s Britannicus. The jewels are so impressively fine, you’d almost forget they’re made of gilded metal, glass or, in the case of the crown below, paper.
Further down the hall, the “sacred monsters” of the Belle Époque are honored, Sarah Bernhardt and Julia Bartet, with jewelry designed for them to sublimate their roles, such as this loan from the Musée Lambinet: an Art Nouveau tiara made by René Lalique for Mlle Bartet in the role of Bérénice, in aluminum, ivory silver and enamel.
Once again, the École des Arts Joailliers presents a unique exhibition of jewelry in a magical setting open to the general public, on an astonishing subject that takes us behind the scenes of the Comédie-Française.
