Symposium Jewellery Matters – Context and Material Research

On 15, 16 and 17 November 2017 the Rijksmuseum will organise the international symposium Jewellery Matters. Context and Material Research. This symposium is organized on the occasion of the publication Jewellery Matters (Rijksmuseum/Nai010 publishers – Summer 2017). In this richly illustrated book, art historian and design expert Marjan Unger offers a theoretical and multidisciplinary framework for the study of jewellery. The symposium addresses some important topics presented in the book. One of these topics, Jewellery and Fashion, will be the highlight during the evening program on November 15th.

About the book
Its history is long: jewellery is worn worldwide and has an endless variety of forms and meanings. But the fundamental question of why people wear it is rarely addressed. By giving an answer to the question ‘why jewellery matters’, Marjan Unger develops a set of standards that can serve as a model for the study of jewellery with new impetus and appreciation.

About the symposium
Speakers from different fields within the jewellery world will be invited to present on two main topics. In general, the first day of the symposium will focus on jewellery in context. We will look at jewellery from the perspective of the visual arts, from a sociological point of view and discuss the way in which appreciation of heritage is translated in today’s jewellery business.
The second day will address the use and study of materials. How does material research aid in the identification, dating and provenancing of pieces of (historical) jewellery? How do we deal with material coming from endangered species? How are cutting-edge developments in materials and techniques incorporated into student training programs in various institutions?

Program

Wednesday 15 November

19.30-20.00 Reception

20.00-20.05 Welcome by Hendrikje Crebolder

20.05-21.00 ‘Jewellery is my Family’

Special guest: Victoire de Castellane (Creative Director Dior Fine Jewellery, Paris) interviewed by John de Greef (Elsevier Magazine, Amsterdam)

21.00-22.30 A selection of work by Victoire de Castellane will be on show in the Atrium of the Rijksmuseum. The Tiffany and Co. Foundation Jewellery Gallery in the Rijksmuseum Special collections will be open to visit. Drinks and bites will be served.

Thursday 16 November – Jewellery in Context

Moderator: Dr. Marjan Unger
Art historian and design expert, Bussum

09.00-09.30 Registration and coffee

09.30-09.40 Welcome
Hendrikje Crebolder - Director of Development & Media, Rijksmuseum

09.40-09.50 The Rijksmuseum Jewellery Collection and Jewellery Matters
Suzanne van Leeuwen – Junior Curator and Conservator of Jewellery, Rijksmuseum

09.50-10.20 Key note lecture – Jewellery Matters: Context
Cornelie Holzach - Director Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim

Session 1: Jewellery: Visual Sources

10.20-10.40 Bow Jewels from the Golden Age
Monique Rakhorst MA - Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

10.40-11.00 Visible and invisible jewels: portraits and the Cheapside Hoard
Hazel Forsyth - Senior Curator of Medieval and Post-Medieval Collections, Museum of London

11.00-11.15 Discussion and questions

Session 2 Jewellery: Company Heritage

11.15-11.35 Defining the Meaning of “Masterpiece” – Building the Tiffany & Co. Archives Collection
Annamarie Sandecki MA - Corporate Archivist, Tiffany & Co. Archives, New Jersey

11.35-11.55 Royal Splendors’ Exodus to America: Tiffany & Co., the French Crown Jewels and American Patrons
Amy Mchugh MA - Assistant Curator, Tiffany & Co. Archives, New Jersey

11.55-12.15 Why I started collecting Steltman jewellery and silverware
Fred Brom FGA - Managing Director Steltman, The Haque

12.15-12.30 Discussion and questions

12.30-13.45 Lunch

Session 3 Jewellery: Media and Fashion

13.45-14.05 Pitch: Jewelry as Narrative: Learning Sentimentality Through Film, Literature, and Other Media
Levi Higgs - Archivist and Social Media Manager, David Webb, New York

Pitch: Dr Fritz Mannheimer and his jewellery collection
Merel van Erp - Academic assistant, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Pitch: A Semi- Literary Explanation for the Emotional Value of Jewelry
Sondra Sherman - Associate Professor, Program Head, Jewelry and Metalwork, San Diego State University, California

14.05-14.25 Buckle & button up!
Bianca du Mortier - Curator of Costume, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

14.25-14.45 Adorning Fashion
Deanna Farneti Cera - Independent Fashion Jewellery Historian, Milan

14.45-15.05 Italian Fashion meets Jewellery
Dr. Alba Cappellieri – The Milan Polytechnic University / The Vicenza Museum of Jewelley, Milan and Vicenza, Italy

15.05-15.15 Discussion and questions

15.15-15.45 Coffee and tea

Session 4 Jewellery: Global and Local

15.45-16. 15 Pitch: Offering jewellery to the ones who cannot wear it: Burying the dead with jewellery, adorning icons with jewellery in contemporary Greece.
Loukia Richards - Artist and curator, Hamburg

Pitch: Human hair and jewellery; an emotional history
Sophie van Gulick - Jewellery historian, Amsterdam

Pitch: Past/Memory, Present/Record, Future/Potential - Jewellery and Migration.
Kerianne Quick - Assistant professor Jewelry + Metal, San Diego State University, California

Pitch: Makers Move – ‘a medium of exchange’
Gitte Nygaard - Artist, Amsterdam

16.15-16.35 (title to be confirmed)
Corinna Gardner MA - Senior Curator of Design and Digital, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

16.35-17.00 Discussion (end of day)

17.00-17.45 Drinks

18.00 Museum closes

Friday 17 November – Jewellery Matters: Materials and Research

Moderator: Prof. Dr. Andrew Morrall
Professor and Chair of Academic Programs, Bard Graduate Centre, New York

09.00-09.45 Coffee

09.45-09.50 Welcome
Dr. Robert van Langh - Head of Conservation and Restoration, Rijksmuseum

09.50-10.20 Key note lecture – Context and Creativity
Dr. Jack Ogden FGA - Consultant Jewellery Historian, London

Session 1 Jewellery: Gemstones

10.20-10.40 Are diamonds for ever? An update on the formation of terrestrial diamonds.
Prof. Dr. Gareth Davies - Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences (FALW), Free University, Amsterdam

10.40-11.00 (title to be confirmed)
Dr. Michael S. Krzemnicki FGA - Director of the Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF), Basel

11.00 11.25 Pitch: Jewellery attitude as a way of looking at the world
Sae Honda, Artist, Amsterdam/Tokio

Pitch: Beyond the material: the implications of cultural value and superstition of jade
Davina Kuh Jakobi MSc, Junior Conservator of Ship and Scale Models, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

Pitch: Gemstones from the jewelry collection of Paulista Museum
Valesca H. Santini, Collection Documentation Specialist, Museum Paulista, São Paulo

11.25-11.40 Discussion and questions

Session 2 Jewellery: Endangered Species

11.40-12.00 Ivory, Coral and Tortoiseshell – Past Uses and Present Emotions
Maggie Campbell Pedersen FGA - Gem-A President and organics expert, London

12.00-12.20 (title to be confirmed)
Bart Langeveld - Customs expert, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, The Hague

12.20-12.30 Discussion and questions

12.30-13.45 Lunch

Session 3 Jewellery: Research and Art Conservation

13.45-14.05 Pitch: The Physical and Psychological Properties of Materials
Evert Nijland - Artist and teacher, Amsterdam/Artiges

Pitch: The use of organic material in contemporary jewellery; how changes in the material can change the meaning of the work
Astrid Ubbink MA - Gallery assistant Galerie Marzee, Nijmegen

Pitch: The imitation game: conservation of gelatin-coated glass on a hip corsage
Marjolein Koek MA - Junior conservator of Textiles, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

14.05-14.25 Appraisal of a Belle Epoque Collection
Thijs Boers – Curator, Amsterdam Museum

14.25-14.45 (title to be confirmed)
Suzan de Groot - Cultural Heritage Agency, Amsterdam

14.45-15.00 Discussion and questions

15.00-15.30 Coffee and tea

Session 4 Jewellery: Innovation and Education

15.30-15.50 Pitch: But if the Crime is Beautiful...
Lauren Kalman - Artist, Detroit

Pitch: Materials in the Anthropocene. You have entered a new material epoch
Evelien Bracke - Curator, Antwerp

Pitch: Idea as a material
Urmas Lüüs - Artist, Haapsalu

15.50-16.10 (title to be confirmed)
Simon Fraser - Course Director, MA Design, Central Saint Martins, London

16.10-16.30 ROCKSTARS from Idar-Oberstein – the Bachelor and Master studies in Gemstones and Jewellery
Prof. Theo Smeets - Jewellery and Object Design, University of Applied Science, Trier

16.30-17.00 Discussion and closing remarks

17.00 End of symposium

18.00 Museum closes

The program is available online on the symposium website: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/jewellery-matters