Year-round events keep the Charleston area buzzing. Music and tempting aromas fill the air. Witness world-renowned performances at Spoleto, get a taste of our heritage at small town oyster roasts or discover the find of a lifetime at an antique show. With so many events taking place, you'd better mark your calendar now.
The Charleston Museum presents Preciousness Preserved
11/06/2009 - 09/06/2010
Location: The Charleston Museum
Address: 360 Meeting Street Charleston, SC 29403
Phone: 843-722-2996
Web Site: http://www.charlestonmuseum.org
The Charleston Museum presents Preciousness Preserved: Jewelry from the Charleston Museum's Collections from Antiquity to Today, a companion exhibit to Aisle Style. From November 6, 2009 to September 6, 2010, the finest jewelry from the Museum's collection will be showcased. Donated by generations of Charlestonians, these pieces span the globe and date from 500 B.C. to the mid-20th century. Jewelry collections ranging from men's accessories to mourning and hairwork pieces will be exhibited. Visitors can also view natural jewelry incorporating jet, corals, pearls, and lava rocks. And, finally, a display of gemstone jewelry will feature amethysts, garnets, diamonds, and pastes (faceted high-content leaded glass that closely imitated diamonds).
Many of the treasures in Preciousness Preserved contain a story as precious as the piece itself. A 1950 brooch in the form of a peacock (shown left) was a Christmas gift to Margaret Middleton Rivers from Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, wife of the former president of the Republic of China. The peacock was handcrafted in China from gold and pearls and serves as a symbol of beauty and dignity in Chinese culture. Each feather on the bird's tail is moveable.
Another historic piece in the collection is a cut steel and iron parure set (shown below), circa 1820, owned by the family of Reverend James Dewar Simmons of Charleston. This piece is an example of an effort to replenish French and Prussian national treasuries at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Citizens were encouraged to turn in their gold jewelry and, in return, they received cast-iron replicas of their pieces.
The Charleston Museum's permanent jewelry collection boasts over 1000 pieces, some of which will be exhibited for the first time in Preciousness Preserved. Visitors will also find locally crafted items from Charleston masters like John David Miller, Samuel Debruhl, and John Miot. Curator of History, Grahame Long, remarks that "family donations and archaeological excavations help the museum expand its collection of both Charleston-made and Charleston-owned jewelry."
11/06/2009 - 09/06/2010
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