Böcker av Marc Jeanson

A stunning celebration of the ravishing nature-themed drawings created by Parisian high-jewelry house Chaumet from the 18th century to today. One of the most storied high-jewelry houses in Paris, Chaumet has been entwined with the history of France ever since its founding in 1780. Appointed official jeweler to Empress Josephine, the house has passed down its unique savoir-faire for almost 240 years. Each generation of Chaumet jewelers has looked to the natural world as a key source of inspiration, dreaming up ruby orchids, delicate laurel-wreath tiaras, striking diamond starbursts and a beguiling array of animals - from birds and butterflies to snakes and octopuses - on necklaces, brooches and head-pieces. Drawings were used not only to research and develop ideas, revealing little-known aspects of the creative process of jewelry design, but also to present fully conceptualized bespoke pieces to clients, tempting them to place an order. These beautiful and inventive drawings - many of which are published here for the first time - are presented in thematic chapters ('Flowers', 'Trees and Plants', 'Bestiary', 'Universe'), while essays by curator Gaëlle Rio offer a concise art-historical perspective. A visually fascinating compendium, this unique book will delight all lovers of jewelry, art and nature.

A tribute to the world''s most extensive collection of botanical specimens, which scientists have meticulously gathered, preserved, and studied since the eighteenth century.With more than eight million samples, the Herbarium''s prestigious collection at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris is the most extensive in the world. The Herbarium''s archive is a living testament to the world''s major historical events--from the 1237 BCE funerary headdress of Egyptian king Ramses II to third-generation botanist Antoine Laurent de Jussieu''s groundbreaking natural classification of flowering plants to Jean-Jacques Rousseau''s hand-annotated botanical notebook.The practice of assembling a herbarium, while first used as a scientific tool, became an art in its own right due to the allure of its floral forms and colors. This handsome volume traces the creative, patrimonial, and scientific dimensions of this exceptional collection that safeguards a rare international heritage; it is a testimony to the modern challenges of biodiversity.