Exhibition showcases Tiffany designer who harnessed forces of nature

More than 120 accessories shown at an exhibition named after Schlumberger at the National Museum of China marks the "most comprehensive public collection" of designs by the French jeweler, and is attributed to a donation from Rachel Lambert Mellon, the noted US philanthropist and horticulturalist who was a longtime patron of Schlumberger, according to Alex Nyerges, the director and CEO of the VMFA.

Mellon often commissioned－and sometimes collaborated with him－on accessory pieces and works of art.

The exhibition running through Sept 1, Jean Schlumberger: Twentieth Century Treasures from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, is the first project arising from the cooperation agreement signed in 2018 between the two museums to exchange collections and share research and human resources.

Nyerges describes Schlumberger's body of work as a "dedication to perfection and beauty, dazzling imagination and clarity of vision", drawing inspiration from botanical and marine life that brings both beauty and a "whimsical nature" to the VMFA's collection of the French jeweler.

Born into a wealthy family involved in textile manufacturing in Mulhouse, France, Schlumberger's early interest in art was discouraged by his parents who instead sent him to Berlin to study banking.