The Art of Jewellery

Drawing exclusively on the British Museum’s own magnificent collection, The Art of Jewellery provides a panoramic survey of jewellery from across the world.

Comprising a stunning array of dazzling personal ornaments, both ancient and modern, this new exhibition celebrates the beauty of these fascinating objects and explores their wide ranging functions and meanings.

Jewellery has been worn in nearly all human societies since the earliest times. And while personal ornaments are universally used to decorate and beautify the body they have always had many other functions beyond simple adornment. They are a vital medium by which we can communicate ideas about ourselves to those around us: our social status and achievements, our beliefs, allegiances and values. Furthermore, opulent jewellery made from rare and precious materials has long been used to proclaim wealth – and is even used as a form of money in some societies.

In The Art of Jewellery these ideas and many other will be explored through a spectacular selection of adornments together with rich illustrative artworks, all of them chosen by the British Museum’s foremost jewellery experts.