AT Washington, the National Museum of American Diplomacy preciously preserves 200 brooches bequeathed by Madeleine Albright. This collection of the first woman to have held the position of Secretary of State has been the subject of a book and exhibitions. Not because she brings together jewels, but because, throughout her career, Madeleine Albright has taken care to choose brooches that are often loaded with a message.
In 1997, while seeking sanctions against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq as US ambassador to the United Nations, she hung a reptile coiled up on a branch and clutching a shiny : relatives of the Iraqi dictator had described her as ” snake “. The only woman to sit on the Security Council at the time, she wore, on good days, flowers, butterflies and balloons. The bad ones, all kinds of insects and carnivorous animals.
Historically, brooches, or brooches, are utilitarian objects, fasteners which from the Bronze Age were used to hold or close a garment. They quickly also become an ornament which, beyond the purely decorative aspect, communicates information about their wearer. In the Middle Ages, pilgrims brought back from sacred places (Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle, Rome, Jerusalem, etc.) a lead or pewter badge that they attached to their hat or cape.
ornament of choice
Proof of passage, souvenir or amulet, brooches were very fashionable from the 12the century and became profane accessories from the XIVe century, helping to indicate the status or personality of their owners – playing on political, corporate, erotic or fantastic registers. Before their use gradually fell into disuse, these brooches also adorned the hats of great lords, who made them precious jewels intended to reinforce the luxury of their attire, as in the famous portrait of François Ier painted by Jean Clouet and kept in the Louvre.
The brooch no longer has anything utilitarian and remains an ornament of choice, rather attached to the female wardrobe. If she suffered from a small obsolete side, it is through men that she operates her return. The recent red carpets bear witness to this: from actor Paul Mescal displaying a vintage Cartier brooch at the Bafta to Adrian Brody sporting a jewel by the artist Elsa Jin in Cannes; or Robert Pattinson at the Met Gala, Baz Luhrmann at the British Academy Film Awards or Arnaud Valois at the Opéra Garnier Gala: all sporting Dior Men brooches.
On the Super Bowl stage in February, Rihanna also paraded with surprising vintage diamond brooches pinned on her scarlet jumpsuit. So many unique pieces of fine jewelry testifying to a precious know-how. But behind the prowess, the beauty, the virtuosity, the brilliance: what do these brooches tell us? Everyone is free to interpret the message that is passed here.
