Journey into Crystal

Anonymous, The Devil and a Woman (from the Sainte Chapelle) , before 1248, Musée National du Moyen-Âge (Cluny), Paris.

Curated in six acts, the exhibition Voyage dans le cristal explores every facet of this enigmatic material whose mystery is slowly revealed through the sequence of displays. To start proceedings, visitors are introduced to quartz and its geological properties, notably through models produced by one of the modern creators of crystallography, Jean-Baptiste Louis Romé de l’Isle. Next, with exhibits that are chronological and arranged by theme, visitors get to discover the many and varied ways humankind has made use of rock crystal through the ages. The exhibition presents over 200 pieces, almost half of which date from the Middle Ages, including objects with spiritual or magical powers, such as reliquaries in which the crystal serves as a magnifying lens ; objects for kings, like a sceptre on loan from the British Museum ; luxury and ornamental pieces, for example a ewer from the Louvre ; and scientific instruments such as the mystifying Visby lenses. It guides visitors through to the modern day and concludes on the museum’s first floor with an installation by artist Patrick Neu, specially commissioned for the event, which will interact with loaned ancient and contemporary objects made of rock crystal.

Organised by the Musée de Cluny – Musée National du Moyen Âge and the Réunion des Musées Nationaux – Grand Palais, with the special participation of the Musée du Louvre, the exhibition features works from Musée de Cluny and objects on loan from national and international institutions including the Schnütgen Museum (a member of the European Network of Museums of Medieval Art established by the Cluny Museum) and other institutions in Cologne ; the Musée national d’art moderne, the Muséum d’Histoire naturelle (Paris) ; the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna) ; the British Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and Tate Britain (London) ; the National Museum of Denmark (Copenhagen) ; and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York).