Museum of Fine Arts, Boston to Present Two New Jewelry Exhibitions

The MFA's collection of Nubian adornments is the most comprehensive outside Khartoum, a result of an early 20th-century expeditions by the Museum with Harvard University. Gold and the Gods: Jewels of Ancient Nubia will illustrate the complex relationship which Ancient Nubia, located in what is now Sudan, had with its neighbors. As the conduit between the Mediterranean world and lands south of the Nile Valley, Nubia was known for its exotic luxury goods–especially gold. The exhibition will focus on excavated ornaments, dating from 1700 B.C. to the 300 A.D., including both uniquely Nubian and foreign imports, prized for their materials, craftsmanship, symbolism and rarity. Gold and the Gods: Jewels of Ancient Nubia will exhibit some 100 objects, including a gilt-silver mummy mask of Queen Malakaye and the famous Hathor-headed crystal pendant. The MFA is the only U.S. museum able to mount an exhibition devoted solely to Nubian adornment drawing exclusively on its own collection.

Joan Crawford jewelry

Hollywood Glamour: Fashion and Jewelry from the Silver Screen September 9, 2014 - March 8, 2015 This fall, the MFA will present Hollywood Glamour: Fashion and Jewelry from the Silver Screen, featuring gowns and exquisite jewelry from the 1930s and 1940s-the most glamorous years of Hollywood film. The exhibition will focus on several major starlets of the period, including Gloria Swanson, Anna May Wong, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Mae West, and Joan Crawford, exploring how jewelry and clothing contributed to their iconic style. It will also examine the differences between fashion and Hollywood "costume" by contrasting the off-screen clothing with more dramatic costumes created for the screen by famous designers such as Adrian and Travis Banton.

Among the 50 works on view will be a dress designed for Wong by Travis Banton, and an aquamarine and diamond suite designed for Crawford. Also featured will be clothing by Adrian, Banton, and Chanel; jewelry by Trabert & Hoeffer-Mauboussin and Paul Flato; set and costume designs; and photography by Edward Steichen. Complementing these will be additional period photographs, film stills, and film clips. These pieces will be drawn from institutional/museum lenders as well as from private collections, including that of jeweler Neil Lane.

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