Men and beasts. Or, rather, creatures that are part of the world of nature. And jewelry. Animals are at the center of an exhibition in New York called Beautiful Creatures, which brings together some of the most spectacular jewels inspired by the world of animals. The exhibition is organized at Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery within the American Museum of Natural History. Over one hundred precious jewels created by the greatest jewelry houses have been selected, from the iconic panthers of Cartier to the butterflies of Suzanne Belperron. With rather rare pieces, such as the necklace by the American designer Joel Arthur Rosenthal, better known as Jar: the one on display, one of the few made by the legendary jeweler, is from 1990 and is made with precious and semiprecious stones and with pavé diamonds set in silver and gold. The selected jewels have been crafted over the past 150 years, in line with the museum’s recent 150th anniversary celebration.
The selected jewels exclude pets, while they include those somehow present in some corner of the museum. There are many great Maison present, from Bulgari to Van Cleef & Arpels, as well as contemporary designers such as Bina Goenka. The exhibition, which was actually announced in autumn, but then postponed due to the covid, is present in the new permanent rooms of Allison and Roberto Mignone and is free and to visit it requires health safety measures (i.e. a little distancing ).
