From the Place Vendôme to Stubenring, the MAK Museum in Vienna presents a rare convergence of High Jewelry and applied arts. Running from June to September 2026, the exhibition “GLANZSTÜCKE” places beautiful objects in dialogue, tracing a century of craftsmanship through six thematic chapters.
The exhibition GLANZSTÜCKE: Van Cleef & Arpels High Jewelry × Masterpieces from the MAK Collection opens on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, 7 pm. We went to the press conference where Lilli Hollein (General Director, MAK) opened the exhibition with Alexandrine Maviel-Sonet (Guest Curator, Patrimony and Exhibitions Director, Van Cleef & Arpels), Anne-Katrin Rossberg (Curator, MAK Metal Collection and Wiener Werkstätte Archive) and Stéphanie Rault, European President for Van Cleef & Arpels.
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About the Museum and the Maison
The Museum of Applied Arts (MAK) in Vienna, established in 1863, stands as one of the world’s oldest institutions dedicated to the intersection of design, architecture, and fine art. It is particularly renowned for its stewardship of the Wiener Werkstätte archive, a collection that defined the visual language of Viennese Modernism. On the other side of this dialogue stands Van Cleef & Arpels, a High Jewellery Maison founded in 1906 on Paris’s Place Vendôme by Alfred Van Cleef and his wife Estelle Arpels. While the MAK preserves the evolution of functional art from the medieval period to contemporary design, Van Cleef & Arpels maintains a patrimonial collection initiated in the 1970s by Jacques Arpels, who began repurchasing historic pieces to safeguard the Maison’s stylistic legacy. The guest curator of the exhibition is Alexandrine Maviel-Sonet, Director of Patrimony and Exhibitions of Van Cleef & Arpels, who is responsible for maintaining the Maison’s heritage and organises exhibitions in collaboration with curators or museums.
According to the press material, the MAK’s collection spans from medieval textiles to ingenious designs by the Wiener Werkstätte, while the Van Cleef & Arpels ensemble comprises over 3,000 creations ranging from High Jewelry to precious objects. The shared ethos of these two institutions—outstanding design and visionary ideas—forms the backbone of this collaboration. As noted in the museum’s official announcement, the project represents an intensive discourse between two entities united by a passion for excellence.
GLANZSTÜCKE Van Cleef & Arpels High Jewelry × Masterpieces from the MAK Collection
As Lilli Hollein (General Director, MAK) shares, the joint journey has started about two and a half years ago, when she visited an exhibition of the Maison in Paris. In this collaboration the two institutions were looking for confluences and commonalities; for example which motifs are central on the objects or do they have connections with the ample art and cultural heritage of Vienna.
Conceived by the Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architects (ATTA) and curated by Anne-Katrin Rossberg, (Curator, MAK Metal Collection and Wiener Werkstätte Archive) the exhibition scenography unfolds as a maze, guiding visitors through six distinct thematic chapters: Wanderlust, Architecture, Rhythmic Design, On Stage, Metamorphosis, and Nature & Cosmos.
The promenade begins with “Wanderlust,” where the Maison’s 1906 gold, silver, and jasper scale model of the sailing yacht Varuna is juxtaposed with the MAK’s early 17th-century Portuguese Carpet. The yacht, notable for its integrated electronic bell system for summoning the butler, mirrors the carpet’s depiction of ships and sea monsters, linking maritime exploration across centuries.
The narrative shifts to “Architecture,” showcasing the functional elegance of Van Cleef & Arpels’ 1935 Minaudière. Patented by the Maison in 1933, the Minaudière™ results from a new focus on functionality. The originality of this improved vanity case lies in its clever interior layout: the lid opens to compartments designed to hold personal items, such as a powder box, a watch, a lighter, and a lipstick. The restrained yet refined design of the piece is typical of the modernist movement of the 1930s – as Van Cleef & Arpels explains.
The design mirrors Koloman Moser’s ornate box (silver, enamel, wood, semiprecious stones) from 1906. The Wiener Werkstätte enabled the close collaboration between designers and craftspeople: three silversmiths—Adolf Erbrich, Eugen Pflaumer, and Karl Ponocny—and the painter Therese Trethan worked on this piece.
In the “Rhythmic Design” section focuses on motifs. The geometric precision of Wiener Werkstätte fabric patterns meets the Silhouette Flower clips from the late 1930s. These clips demonstrate the formal stylization of late Art Deco and reinterpret the flower in a modernist way.
The “Metamorphosis” chapter highlights transformability, with Koloman Moser’s 1906 folding screens and the iconic Zip necklace from VCA. Patented in 1938, the Zip draws inspiration from the zipper used in aviator suits. Later couturiers embraced this design element, championed by Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1930s. The Zip necklace, 1955 is convertible into a bracelet in yellow gold, platinum, emeralds, diamonds. This emblematic creation has seen many versions since then, such as this great example from a recent auction preview.
“On Stage” explores the cultural vibrancy of Vienna, for example modern dance and cabaret. Fritz Zeymer’s illustration for the first program of Cabaret Fledermaus picturing dancer Gertrude Barrison is paired with the Little Winged Fairy clips of the French jewellery House. Van Cleef & Arpels’ fairy motifs created during World War II offered poetry and hope amidst global conflict, echoing the Viennese tradition of opera and dance.
Finally, “Nature & Cosmos” brings the exhibition to a close. The Flower brooch with emeralds and diamonds presenting the Mystery Set technique patented in 1933 or the Leaf bracelet with sapphires and diamonds answer splendidly to Martha Alber’s Wiener Werkstätte Blätter fabric.
The exhibition runs from June 10 to September 27, 2026, accompanied by a catalog designed by the Viennese studio Bueronardin.
Source: press release. Photo credits: MAK Vienna. Van Cleef & Arpels. Loupiosity.com
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