Bejewelled timeline

If you’re visiting Beijing, a cultural must-see that’ll top your list would most likely be the Forbidden City. Serving as home for emperors and their households from the Ming to the Qing dynasties, it is now home to imperial collections of artwork and artefacts, drawing visitors from around the world to learn more about the Chinese history and its government.

Now, jewellery, art and history are coming together at the Forbidden City. From 11 April to 2 July, Chaumet will be presenting the Imperial Splendours jewellery retrospective that’ll feature more than 300 pieces of work from its archives that backdate to the 18th century at the Forbidden’s City Palace Museum.

Under the direction of Henri Loyrette, director of Musée du Louvre, the exhibition brings together prestigious collections from notable museums including Chateau de Fontainebleau and the Victoria and Albert Museum of London. Titled Imperial Splendours, the exhibition centre’s around Chaumet’s patrimonial wealth how the brand has journeyed to become one of the finest jewellery maisons in the world. The well-heeled will also notice the subtle exchange between French and Chinese culture, and the impact it has on the art of jewellery.

Visitors will take a walk through the maison’s bejewelled timeline, viewing numerous jewels, paintings, object d’art and drawings from archives. One of the highlights include the Chaumet Bourbon-Parma tiara, made by Joseph Chaumet (pictured above).

The exhibition is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 8.30am to 5pm.

Chaumet
Wu men Room
Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City
No. 4 Jingshanqian Street
Dongcheng District
Beijing 100009
China