On October 30, the Louvre Abu Dhabi will launch its new exhibition “10,000 Years of Luxury”, the first of its kind in the Middle East to highlight the history of luxury.
Organized in cooperation with the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris and the Agence France-Muséums, the exhibition presents some 350 exceptional pieces of fashion, jewelry, visual arts, furniture and design to show how people viewed the concept of luxury from antiquity to the present day. The exhibition is sponsored by Abu Dhabi's Traiano Luxury Brands Store.
The exhibition, co-ordinated by the director of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, Olivier Gabet, includes pieces from the collection of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris and the collections of several French, local and international institutions. It also presents works from the Louvre Abu Dhabi collection, allowing visitors to reflect on the changing concept of luxury.
Diversity of exhibits
The exhibition presents the different approaches to the concept of luxury through time, from the ancient civilizations and rituals followed, through the luxury that prevailed in the 18th century, to the industrial revolution and its impact on the total consumption of luxury goods. Each piece in the exhibition reflects a different view of what distinguishes luxury, whether its value gained over time or craftsmanship in its manufacture or scarcity. The pieces on display range from Mamluk rugs from Egypt from the 15th century to the hourglass designed by Australian artist Mark Neussen. The show also highlights the luxury of the fashion world through classic and modern designs by top fashion designers such as Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton, as well as Karl Lagerfeld, Ezzedine Alia, Chabarelli, Yves Saint Laurent and Hermes.
Manuel Rabaté, Director of the Louvre Abu Dhabi, said: “The exhibition highlights the relationship between humanity and the concept of well-being across different ages and cultures, through a comprehensive vision of this relationship, from ancient treasures to luxury today. This approach comes in the context of the museum's global narrative, which is at the heart of our cultural mission.
Anecdotes
Dr. Thoraya Njeim, Director of the Museum's collection and curators, said: “The unique exhibition highlights the many aspects of luxury, which have always amazed man throughout history, with a special focus on materials and technologies that determine the value of these. Precious pieces. We seek to change the common concept of luxury to allow the visitor to look at this concept, which is constantly changing with a new perspective. ”
Olivier Gabet, curator of the exhibition and director of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, stressed that the exhibition includes rare works of art preserved in the French national collections, and at the same time includes valuable artifacts recently discovered in Abu Dhabi, which contributes to a new perspective of the concept of luxury and its roots Historical.
The exhibition includes 12 sections to take the visitor on a journey on the world of luxury from ancient times to the present day, exhibits from the ancient empires of the Middle East and the Mediterranean paint the first features of luxury, having gained its value from the price of materials made or scarcity, which was indicating To the social status of its owner. In the Middle Ages, luxury spread around the world as trade routes expanded and new technologies developed.
How the outlook has changed
The '10,000 years of luxury' comes within the framework of the Louvre Abu Dhabi 2019-2020 under the title 'Changing Societies' which highlights the changes that have taken place in civilizations as a result of the influence of culture and creativity.The exhibition presents the concept of luxury as a means to understand the social, economic and political conditions of a specific time It also shows how the perception of the value of pieces has changed over time.