Objets Precieux Art Deco, l'Ecole des Arts Joailliers, Van Cleef Arpels

Another fabulous exhibit at l'ECOLE DES JOAILLIERS on 31, rue Danielle Casanova 75001

Run, don't walk to see OBJECTS PRECIOUS ART DECO on until the 25th of April, an incredible display of small masterpieces of inventiveness, creativity, fantasy, skills and technical prowess. 

50 Art Deco boxes from a collection of over 100 collected by the Prince Saddrudin Aga Kahn for his wife, Princesse Catherine.

Compacts, cigarette cases, vanity cases (necessaire), many encrusted with diamonds and other rare gems.

Covered in fine translucent enamel, mother-of-pearl, lacquer from Paris' best ateliers of great jewelers of the 1920s and 1930s.

'Chaque instant est bonheur a qui est capable de la voir comme tel"

'Every moment is a golden one for him who has the vision to recognize it as such" Henry Miller

After WWI women gained their independence. They drove cars, smoked in public, wore shorter skirts, cut their hair, drank cocktails and worked.

Elegant upper class women were now allowed to wear makeup. Smoking was no longer the exclusive preserve of men.

As a result beauty cases and cigarette holders made their appearance.

Their flat surfaces offered the ideal support for art deco-style decoration.

This style, which flourished during the interwar period was characterised by stylization and abstraction of motifs ...plus a taste for geometric motifs. Reproduced maquettes of the gouache designs line the exhibit walls.

Other sources of inspiration included French 18th century techniques, Russian Fabergé styles, Japonism, Italian Renaissance and Persian motifs.

A simply divine exhibit with an equally divine colored catalog. Don't miss it if you're in Paris through April 25th

We had jewel-like gouté to revive us after so much eye candy :)

Well it seems we still have to kick up our heels for independence and equal pay girls doesn't it... Thank you for reading Parisbreakfast. If you enjoyed this post, forward to a friend. You can receive a monthly Paris letter or map in your mailbox and French souvenirs at ETSY.

xxxCarolg et Bear 🐻