The Paradox of Pearls: Accessorizing Identities in the Eighteenth Century

Pearls figure prominently in pictures of celebrated and imagined figures across the 18th century. As jewelry, as embellishments to the body and dress, or set in precious objects, pearls accessorize, highlight, colonize, and perform. Drawing from materials in the Lewis Walpole Library this exhibition will explore the “paradox of pearls” by considering how the jewel’s varied and often contradictory meanings appear in period images and how practices from the past connect us to the powerful presence of pearls today.

Curated by Laura Engel, Professor, Duquesne University