Artistic luxury

"Peter Carl Faberge, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Rene Lalique - these great designers came together only once to display their goods in what was probably the most opulent exhibition ever mounted: the 1900 Exposition Universelle in Paris, where the three strove to position themselves ahead of their many competitors in the luxury market. This splendidly illustrated catalogue explores their success at the exhibition, the prewar pinnacle of European culture." "The array of displayed objects was mesmerizing, including Tiffany glass, dazzling Easter eggs, and realistic insects created in precious materials as sinister decorations. Faberge, Tiffany, and Lalique adopted one strategy to boost their sales and broaden their markets: the presentation of luxury goods as art, invested with the imaginative energy and aesthetic refinement of Art Nouveau, early modernism, Symbolism - the most advanced art of the time - and the bold appropriation of styles from the modern and ancient worlds." "Four essays discuss the works in the context of their times, illuminate the high societies served by the three masters, and trace the cultural trends behind the designers' extraordinary creations. Accompanying photographs show the individual exhibits, scenes from the World's Fair, and the glitterati who wore the artists' jewelry."--Jacket.