Inside “I Am Only A Pencil”, the Jean Schlumberger Private Exhibition

It begins with with a sketch

Jean Schlumberger drew first and made jewels second. Tiffany & Co. now shows what that process looked like. I Am Only A Pencil, a by-invitation only exhibition dedicated to the works of Jean Schlumberger, presents itself during Paris Fashion Week S/S ’27, signalling the start of a long conservation project. The exhibition places Schlumberger’s original drawings at its centre, freeing them from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs vault (where they have been stored since Schlumberger’s passing in 1987) for the very first time.

Preserving the legacy of Jean Schlumberger

Photos: The Virginia Museum Of Fine Arts/Estate Of Mrs Paul Mellon; Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD); The Tiffany Archives; writer’s own.

Of course, there’s more to this Jean Schlumberger exhibition than mere storytelling. It marks a 4-year initiative with the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (MAD), with the Tiffany Archives leading the charge. Together, the scope of the project involves the conserving and digitally imaging of around 5,000 original Schlumberger drawings and 5,000 archival documents. As a result, scholars, curators and designers will be able to study the material for years to come. Additionally, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts provided scientific expertise for the presentation.

The story begins

“This is a once in a lifetime experience. This has never happened before, and will never happen again,” says Christopher Young, creative director, vice president for global creative visual merchandising and the Tiffany Archive for Tiffany & Co., as he leads us into the exhibition.

First, a selection of original drawings sets the scene, supported by a video that explains the conservation process of these precious documents. Archival documents and photographs follow, in a gallery that sheds light on Schlumberger’s personal life and working process.

Next, finished jewels appear beside the sketches that shaped them, the Plumes, Jasmine and Tulips necklaces, and Pectoral Cross among the pieces on display. “The reason that this is historic is not just because of the drawings,” Young continues. “But through our special partnership with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, we have also paired the original drawing with the original jewel, together for the first time since they were made.”

The Mellon connection

Further galleries cover his Surrealist-inspired objets d’art and the influence of couture on his work. Some of these creations belonged to Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon, the horticulturalist and philanthropist who was a close friend of the designer. In fact, among her possessions was one of the first Bird on a Rock brooches. The bird perched on lapis lazuli, takes pride of place in the last gallery, a room devoted to Bird on a Rock, one of the House’s best-known designs.