Cross-Cultural Bling at the Newark Museum

By Staff -- JCK Online, 4/1/2004 2:00:00 AM

Curators from three different departments of the Newark Museum in New Jersey have created a far-reaching jewelry exhibit, "Baubles, Bangles and Bling Bling: A World of Jewelry," that will run through May 9.

Ulysses Grant Dietz, curator of Decorative Arts; Valrae Reynolds, curator of the Asian Collection; and Christa Clarke, curator of Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific, have brought together items of personal adornment from each of their respective areas.

The exhibit is organized into three sections: Life Passages, Status and Power, and Spirituality. Items on display include ancient jewelry from the Mediterranean, Asia, and the Americas as well as their contemporary counterparts. There are beaded adornments made by Zulu and Xhosa women in South Africa, the gold bracelets of a sultan, a crown worn by a Korean bride, and a Super Bowl Championship ring. There's even a Raymond Yard platinum and diamond bracelet that Douglas Fairbanks Jr. ordered in an effort to win the heart of Joan Crawford.

The exhibit is supported by the Tiffany & Co. Foundation, the CIT Group, and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. Research was made possible by a grant from the Peter Krueger-Christie's Foundation.

The Newark Museum is open Wednesdays through Sundays, from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $5 for adults, $2 for children and seniors. For information on lectures and workshops associated with the exhibit, visit www.NewarkMuseum.org.

The Newark Museum, 49 Washington St., Newark, NJ 07102.