Cathy's Art Diary

Fabulous online lecture from the Victoria and Albert Museum looking the rivalry between the jewellers Faberge and Cartier at the start of the 20th century. The talk pitted Kieran McCarthy, curator of the current Faberge exhibition, against Francesca Cartier Brickell, a descendent of the founder of Cartier and author of a book on the family. They obviously knew each other well and had a good-natured discussion on the relative merits of each firm. In doing so we heard an interesting history of each company and their clients. Cartier was the first of the two companies to arrive in London, setting up shop with the dress designer Worth, with whom they were linked by marriage but they were soon followed by the Russians. A few years later they found themselves on the same road next door to each other. Clients bought from both companies with an emphasis on Cartier for jewellery and Faberge for objects. I had loved the Faberge exhibition and it was good to hear a bit more about the compa...

Sumptuous exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum on the Russian jeweller Faberge with a focus on his English shop and clients. I was pleased that I’d listened to a live curators talk on the show before I went as it was quite busy and hard to read some of the commentaries. You quickly didn’t care that much about the narrative as the objects were so stunning but I was glad I had some outline of what was happening in my head. Although the focus was on London the background was set up well with a section on work for the Russian Royal Family. This was followed one on the craftsmanship divided into different materials and techniques and looking at the different family workshops that were used. This was well illustrated with design drawings. I loved the section on the London shop and the English clientele. The show outlined various Edwardian characters with examples of the work they bought or were given. I loved the woman who gave her lover a cigarette case every New Year marking ...

Fascinating online lecture from the Victoria and Albert Museum looking at their new exhibition on Faberge in London. Hanne Faurby and Kieran McCarthy, the curators of the show, led us through its layout and talked about what they were trying to achieve with it. They explained why it was divided into sections on the Russian royal family, the craft process, the opening of the London shop and its clientele and why they chose to finish with 15 of the Imperial Easter eggs. I loved McCarthy’s quote “I want people surfing on waves of enamel as they leave” and, having been since, I can confirm that I did! I have to say watching this talk was a real help when I went as it was quite busy and hard to read the labels and commentary so I didn’t feel I needed to concentrate so much on them. It was nice to get insights into how the exhibition was put on and some of the issues they had faced including that they didn’t finish the install until an hour before the opening and the issues McCarthy had...

Charming exhibition at the jewellers Bentley and Skinner looking at the business’s links to the Russian jeweller Faberge and showing lovely examples of the latter’s work. I hadn’t known this was on but as I passed the shop on my way to the tube from the Royal Academy I noticed a man handing out booklets on the street outside this shop and directing people in. In the basement was a charming display outlining the history of the Russian Revolution via information boards and then looking at how one of the original designers at Bentley and Skinner had worked for Faberge and escaped to London following the revolution. There was also a cabinet of exquisite Faberge items currently for sale including a delightful letter seal, clocks and tiny enamelled vanity cases. Closed on 30 November 2017