Ultra-Vanities - Bejewelled Make-Up Boxes from the Age of Glamour

Date:February 25, 2013 3:00 pm

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With early, minimal and elegant pieces from the 1920s shown alongside extravagantly adorned examples from the 1950s and later, Ultra Vanities provides a window on a glamorous world of luxury and elegance and reflects the social and design history of the times.

Aside from being stunning objets d’art the boxes were miracles of miniature engineering featuring tiny components all contained in a very small space.

The decoration on these works of art could range from sleek and functional to ornate and highly imaginative often involving the combined talents of various artists and craftsmen including goldsmiths, enamellers, stone-setters and engravers.  They were remarkable feats of superior craftsmanship and often took months of intricate, painstaking work to create.

All the major art and fashion trends were reflected in the design and decoration and as with much of the jewellery produced during this period, were inspired by the Art Deco movement  and the symbols and exotic motifs of the near and Far East.

The exhibition will be staged in the principal first floor rooms of Goldsmiths’ Hall which will be transformed, for the occasion, into an elegant Parisian salon of the 1930s and dressed with historic touches and references back to an age of glamour.  Within this setting of refinement and femininity Ultra Vanities promises to be a top destination for the style and fashion obsessed this summer as well as anyone interested in precision design and masterworks of the highest craftsmanship.

 

Phone Number 0207 606 7010
Building Number / Name Goldsmiths' Hall
Street Foster Lane
City London
Region England - Greater London
Post Code EC2V 6BN
Foster Lane, City of London, EC2V, UK

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