Louvre Abu Dhabi’s 10,000 Years of Luxury takes visitors on a journey of opulence from the Neolithic to the noughties
Ten thousand years ago the last of the sabre-tooth cats were facing the end of their reign on earth as the Quaternary extinction event took hold; the ancient Lebanese city of Byblos was being founded, and the Saharan desert was a vast savanna of lush, rolling grassland, a far cry from the parched, arid landscape of today.
Then, in a time span that amounts to a mere grain of sand dropping through humankind’s hourglass, two thousand years later in 5800 BCE, something spectacular happened; the Abu Dhabi Pearl was pulled by a pearl diver from the warm waters which lapped the shores of the UAE’s ancient Marawah Island.
Known as the oldest natural pearl in the world, the symbolism of this Neolithic period find on the island 100 kilometres off the west coast of Abu Dhabi, made it the ideal artefact around which to curate an exhibition dedicated to the pursuit and appreciation of luxury through the ages.
Opening at the Louvre Abu Dhabi last month, and running until February 18, 2020, 10,000 Years of Luxury, part of Louvre Abu Dhabi’s 2019/2020 Changing Societies season which focuses on how culture and creativity reflect major shifts in civilisations, is showcasing around 350 objects from 30 countries, exploring luxury through fashion, jewellery, visual art, furniture and design from the collections of international institutions and brands.
With some of the world’s most influential fashion and jewellery houses lending items, including Chanel, Dior, Givenchy, Elie Saab and Van Cleef & Arpels, pieces from these modern shrines to grandeur can be viewed alongside historical items from Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Paris, Musée du Louvre, La Fondation des Artistes and Zayed Museum.
Unfolding across 12 rooms, beginning in antiquity and ending in the present day, the exhibition, curated by Olivier Gabet, Director of Musée des Arts Décoratifs, offers visitors the chance to immerse themselves in and evaluate our ever- changing fascination with luxury, from ancient civilisations to the exquisite finery of the 18th century, through to the Industrial Revolution and its impact on the mass consumption of luxury goods.
“Luxury is everywhere in our world today – surrounding us in objects, images, and language,” says Olivier Gabet. “This exhibition gathers rare artefacts kept in French National Collections, but also precious archaeological pieces recently unveiled in Abu Dhabi. It will offer a new way of understanding the notion of luxury and its historical roots.”
Visitors will encounter a plethora of pieces designed to both reinforce and challenge how we view luxury, such as the gold and garnet bracelet inlaid with sapphires, amethysts, chalcedony and glass, found at the necropolis of Yahmur in Syria in the third century, as well as the gold and silver Boscoreale Treasure, discovered at Boscoreale, Italy and dating back to between the first century BCE and the first century CE.
“In this exhibition, we are exploring humanity’s connection to luxury across time and cultures, taking a long lens on the subject from ancient treasures to present day haute couture,” explains Manuel Rabaté, Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi. “This approach is consistent with Louvre Abu Dhabi’s universal narrative, which is part of our DNA. We are grateful to our main partner Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the many institutions, including haute couture icons, who have contributed exceptional pieces to this wonderful story of luxury.”
And a story worth telling it certainly is, for alongside the domestic luxuries of a Christofle silver plated brass soup tureen dating back to 1907-08, a Three Medallion Mamluk carpet from Cairo, circa 1450–1500, and a 19th-century Smallhythe table with folding leaves by the English architect-designer, Edward William Godwin, visitors will also be able to follow the yarn – pun intended - of an industry for whom luxury is woven into its very DNA – fashion.
Dior’s Adélaïde ball gown and coat from the maison’s spring/ summer 1948 collection is a highlight, showcasing the delicate oyster pink of the gold braid-trimmed silk satin coat against the midnight noir of the tulle and satin dress, a look that was no doubt designed to shake off (and shake up) the dour austerity of Europe’s post-war years.
Less structured but no less elegant is the bias-cut simplicity of the Madeleine Vionnet ivory silk crepe evening gown, dating back to 1920, for which four square panels held by their corners are arranged in a drape that is a paean to the louche, body-con era of the Roaring Twenties.
And pulling on this fascinating fashion thread will deliver the visitor to the present incarnation of style-as-luxury as evidenced by an off-shoulder dress in organza printed with vegetal motifs, embroidered shiny and matt parma sequins from Lebanese designer Elie Saab’s spring/summer 2019 haute couture collection.
“This one-of a-kind exhibition examines the multi-faceted aspects of luxury that have fascinated humans throughout time, with a focus on the materials and techniques that define precious objects,” says Dr. Souraya Noujaim, Scientific, Curatorial and Collections Management Director at Louvre Abu Dhabi. “We aim to challenge pre-conceived notions of luxury and offer new perspectives on this ever-changing concept.”
With ‘ever-changing concepts’ in mind, Louvre Abu Dhabi has also embarked on a parallel artistic device, presenting USO, The Perfumed Cloud – USO meaning Unidentified Scented Object – to run in conjunction with 10,000 Years of Luxury.
Created by Cartier’s in-house perfumer, Mathilde Laurent and Transsolar Klima Engineering, the interactive installation invites visitors to enter a transparent glass cube for an olfactory sensory experience that reminds us that fragrance – poetically dubbed ‘the first clothing for the skin’ – was once a luxury of which only Kings and Pharoahs could avail.
Having begun this journey through luxury with the Abu Dhabi Pearl, it seems fitting to end it by lingering upon the symbolism of Australian designer Marc Newson’s The Hourglass, whose orb-shaped contents cannot help but bring one back full circle to the spherical beauty of Marawah Island’s ancient discovery.
Inverted, this Swiss-made timepiece made of Borosilicate glass sends 7,727,248 miniature gold and silver-coated steel nanoballs, each precisely 0.6mm in diameter, cascading through the neck to the lower bulb, each as unstoppable as the moment in time it represents.
“This Hourglass is all about time, but in a more esoteric and fundamental way,” says Newson of his creation. “I was thinking of having fun with time.” Tempus fugit, as it always does, but this time with a little luxurious twist.
