Pearls

Exploring the history of natural pearls from the early Roman Empire to the present, this exhibition explores their associations with wealth, royalty and glamour across cultures and centuries. Jewellery on display includes a sixteenth-century salamander pendant, art nouveau pieces, a group of tiaras worn by European royalty and a pair of drop pearl earrings owned by Elizabeth Taylor. You can also expect to see robes embroidered with pearls, worn by Far Eastern rulers, and portrait paintings and photographs documenting the fashion for wearing pearls and their symbolism in East and West. The show also examines early experiments in developing cultured pearls.