Artistic Bonds

The confluence of East and West is seen in the artistic crafts displayed at the Mastery of an Art: Van Cleef & Arpels— High Jewelry and Japanese Crafts exhibition in Kyoto. Karishma Tulsidas immerses herself in French and Japanese savoir faire

- Karishma Tulsidas

Throughout the centuries, art, in all its different forms, has served as a medium to understand societal structures, economic climate, as well as cultural norms of different eras. Historians have analysed the jewels Egyptians pharaohs wore to determine the motifs they held dear, or the Goldsmith techniques mastered in the Mesopotamian era to understand how advanced their society was. So when French jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels invited us to Kyoto in Japan to visit its latest exhibition, Mastery of an Art: Van Cleef & Arpels—High Jewelry and Japanese Crafts, we were curious about the significance of the exhibition itself, as well as its location. Was it simply a matter of convenience, or was there a deeper, more incisive reason as to why the National Museum of Modern Art Kyoto was chosen as the host?

A simplistic answer lies in the name of the exhibition. Mastery of an Art showcases works of joaillerie by the renowned French jeweller, alongside traditional Japanese crafts by artisans from the Meiji era onwards. The commonality is that the works showcase the incredible depth and breadth of savoir faire and creativity mastered by the craftsmen of each country.