Members from Soroptimist International St Albans & District, Winchester and Preston Clubs were privileged to attend a lecture by Beatriz Chadour-Sampson at the V & A on Saturday 16 Nov. Beatriz is a Soroptimist, a jewellery historian and consultant curator to the V&A. She gave us a comprehensive overview of the exhibition using high-definition images of many of the spectacular pieces. We particularly enjoyed the fascinating insights into the immense amount of work required to curate such a world-class exhibition.
The V & A provided a delicious lunch in the seminar room and the clubs had a chance to socialise; this would not have been possible in the tumult of the V & A cafe! In the afternoon we visited the exhibition at our leisure. Of course it stands on its own merits but we all thought we gained so much more because of our great good fortune in having it introduced to us by its curator, our valued friend Beatriz. Beatriz was a member of SI St Albans & District and lived in Harpenden for many years before she moved to Hampshire and transferred to the Winchester Club. Pictured here is Beatriz Chadour-Sampson wearing Mikimoto pearls (on loan) at the opening of “Pearls”. Photo reproduced by kind permission of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Pictured above are just a few of the Soroptimists who came on the visit with Beatriz at the end of the exhibition in the excellent V&A “Pearls” gift shop!
For more information, see earlier articles: Pearls Exhibition Opens and Pearls Book Published