This is fourth of a series of study days dedicated to the history of precious ornaments in Europe since the Middle Ages. Favoring an interdisciplinary approach inspired by Aby Warburg, specialists, historians, philologists, philosophers and gemologist, will share their groundbreaking research on the history of precious arts, gemstones, craftsmanship and finery, between neoclassicism and industrial revolution periods.

Presentation

On January 29 and 30, 2026, the Collège de France will host the fourth session of an art history seminar on precious ornaments : “Metamorphoses of Jewelry and Precious Arts between Neoclassicism and Industrial Revolution in Europe between 1750 and 1900”. The proceedings of Precious Ornaments 1, “Functions of Precious Ornaments in European Courts in the Late Middle Ages and during the Renaissance” were published in 2023. The proceedings of Precious Ornaments 2, “Precious Ornaments and Jewelry in the Art and Life of European Courts from the Renaissance to the Baroque Age” were published in 2024. The proceedings of Precious Ornaments 3, “Diffusion and Appreciation of Precious Ornaments and Jewelry in Europe between Baroque and Rococo (1650-1750) is being published.

The seminar is organized by Francesco Solinas, Associate Professor at the Collège de France, Marie-Laure Cassius-Duranton and Guillaume Glorieux, respectively Research Professor and Director of Education and Research at L’ECOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, with the support of Van Cleef & Arpels. This is a partnership between L’ECOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, the Collège de France, the CNRS and the ENS.

Program

Thursday 29 January

10am : Francesco Solinas (Collège de Frane) : Welcome

10.10am : Guillaume Glorieux (L’ECOLE, School of Jewelry Arts) : Preamble

10.20am : Marie-Laure Cassius-Duranton (L’ECOLE, School of Jewelry Arts) : Presentation of Precious Ornaments 3 (proceedings of the third edition of the Study Days on Precious Ornaments)

• 10.30am-11.10am : Fanny Balian (EHESS, Paris) : Splendor and Lights, Armenians and Diamonds from India to the West in the 18th Century
• 11.30am-12.10pm : Wim Nys (DIVA Museum, Antwerp) : Unpublished News About the Work and Life of the Jeweler Louis Vander Cruycen (1743-1818), who was active in Brussels and Paris as a Publisher of Ornamental Prints
• 12.10pm-12.50pm : Michele Amedei (Università di Pisa) : Between Dominique Ingres and François-Xavier Fabre : the Jewelry in Giuseppe Bezzuoli (1784-1855)’s Portraits
• 3pm-3.40pm : Jonas Jückstock, (Schatzkammer, Residenz, Munich) : The Crown Jewels of Bavaria Seen through the Eyes of a Restorer
• 3.40pm-4.20pm : Luana Toniolo (Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, Rome) : Rediscovering Antiquity : Fortunato Pio Castellani and the Birth of the ”Oreficeria archeologica italiana"
• 4.40pm-5.20pm : Céline Gaslain-Leduc (L’ECOLE, School of Jewelry Arts) : Near Eastern Archaeology and European Jewelry (1840-1910)

Friday 30 January

• 10am-10.40am : Lia Lenti (Independant Researcher, Italy) : Camillo Bertuzzi, Jewelry Designer Overview of his Stays in Paris
• 10.40am-11.20am : Florent Guérif (L’ECOLE, School of Jewelry Arts) : A New Status for Precious Arts : the Recognition of Jewelry as an Art Form at the End of the 19th Century in France. 
• 11.40am-12.20pm : Emanuele Pellegrini (Scuola IMT Alti Studi, Lucca) : Designing Jewels : the Notebooks of Italian Goldsmiths at the End of the 19th Century
• 12.20pm-1pm : Sophie Guermann (Université de Neuchâtel, Ecole du Louvre) : The Status and Sale of the French Crown Jewels in the 19th Century
• 3pm-3.40pm : Emmanuelle Amiot (L’ECOLE, School of Jewelry Arts) : « Corinthe » by Jean-Léon Gérôme : the Challenges of Incarnation, and the Role of Jewelry
• 3.40pm-4.20pm : Isabelle Frank (Independant Researcher, Hong Kong) : The Theory of Precious Ornaments at the End of the 19th Century, particularly in the Work of Georg Simmel

4.20pm-5pm : Discussion & Conclusions

Participation

The Study Days will be broadcast live on L’ECOLE website (https://www.lecolevancleefarpels.com/fr/en/study-days-january-2026-edition)

The proceedings will be published.

You will be able to attend in person subject to availability at Collège de France, room 2 (11 place Marcelin Berthelot, 75005 Paris).