Museums Cede Curatorial Control to Bauble Boosters

Sophia Loren Necklace and Earrings Set, Bulgari. Gold, diamonds. Bulgari Collection

When in come to marketing tie-ins for corporate support of museums, as discussed in Robin Pogrebin's article in today's NY Times, nothing has as much conflict-of-interest potential as grants for exhibitions showcasing objects with direct connections to the grantor's own products. Perhaps the longest-running example of this phenomenon is the succession of Tiffany-themed shows at the Metropolitan Museum, sponsored by Tiffany.

At least the Met's shows are related to its own collections and organized by the museum's own curators.

Now we have a nonprofit group, the National Jewelry Institute, which for more than two years has been organizing displays that are partly supported by major jewelry firms and are now touring major museums.

At the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco is NJI's Masterpieces of French Jewelry, with sponsors including French jeweler Boucheron.

And at the Field Museum, Chicago, is the NJI-organized Treasures of the Titans, which "features more than 30 exquisitely crafted accessories designed for or owned by 20th-century icons from the realms of art, politics, entertainment, and industry....The exhibition presents jewelry as exquisite works of art worthy of close inspection," says the Field.

But Judith Price, former owner of Avenue magazine, who is NJI's president, told me that the most important criterion for selecting the jewelry for "Titans" was not "how beautiful the object was," but the importance of the objects' owners---an eclectic bunch including Sophia Loren (above), Elton John and Madeleine Albright. The museum's website doesn't list the sponsors at this venue, but sponsors for the touring exhibition include Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels.

Perhaps the most dubious NJI outing was its first: Masterpieces of American Jewelry, which premiered at the American Folk Art Museum, New York, an institution whose mission was not previously associated with displaying luxury goods. Here are the folk-art aficionados who showed up for the opening bash. The incongruity is perhaps best explained by the fact that Ralph Esmerian, the museum's chairman emeritus, is also vice chairman of the NJI. The institute's chairman is Ashton Hawkins, former vice president, secretary and counsel of the Metropolitan Museum.

For a complete list of the jeweler-studded corporate sponsors of NJI-organized shows, go here.