ODE TRAVEL MAGAZINE

. Relais Signature World . Ode Travel Magazine . 2 0 2 1 . CHAPTER 1 .
LUXES
Exhibition
Luxes , this winter’s exhibiCon at the
Musée des Arts DécoraCfs, in Paris, isn’t
only about travels though. It explores
percepCons of luxury throughout the
ages and from all corners of the world.
During this pandemic, it felt like a great
luxury just to be able to visit such a
fabulous exhibiCon. For a short while, I
dreamed of far away ages and places, of
palaces and fesCviCes, of dazzling
dresses and Louis VuiNon cases. I forgot
all about facemasks, restricCons and
diseases. The exhibiCon is organised in
chronological order, showing some 100
objects. It starts with ancient objects
from Egypt, Iran and Greece; the oldest
piece being a zoomorphic hedgehog vase
from approximately 3500 – 3100 BC.
These artefacts illustrate the
archaeological perspecCve of luxury and
show that man has always been more
than a mere “assembly of atoms”. The
Romans inserted the concept of oZum,
leisure, in the form of arCcles, such as a
beauCful deck of cards, a backgammon
board and decorated manuscripts that
are displayed. The 16 th and 17 th
centuries are represented with mainly
French court objects in silver and gold.
However, from the same era, I preferred
the Japanese art of kintsugi, broken
ceramics repaired with gold leaf, and the
Chinese pagoda barometerthermometer.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
A great novelty in this magnificent museum is the
opening up of a room that’s been closed to the
visitors: the Art Nouveau wooden-panelled Salon
1900, designed for the 1900 Universal ExhibiCon. In
its footsteps followed fashion houses, with dresses
and jewellery from Dior, Chanel, Hermès and Louis
VuiNon just to menCon a few.
The exhibiCon finishes with contemporary luxury
items, clothes and designed furniture. That luxury is
seemingly determined by a logo or a brand name in
our modern world is obvious when one remembers
the queues of tourists outside some of Paris most
fashionable houses.
Luxes offers an ancient as well as contemporary
context to understand what makes luxury one of
the most singular and symbolic features of
civilizaCons. Paradoxically it also fits these strange
Cmes we live in now when mass-tourism is but a
memory and travel has once again become a luxury
only the very few can afford.
Time will tell if there will be a permanent shim of
perspecCve that some long for or if this period will
come and go and things will return to what they
were before Corona. However, the human taste for
beauty and luxury will surely prevail throughout the
ages. It seems to have been engraved in our genes,
as is pointed out in this fabulous exhibiCon.
Luxes
15 October 2020 – 2 May 2021
MAD, Musée des Arts DécoraZfs, Paris
By Anne Edelstam
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