Temple St. Clair Joins Permanent Collection at the Louvre

Paris--Temple St. Clair is being recognized for her skill as a jewelry designer and maker in a big way.

This fall, a pendant in her Celestial collection will join the permanent collection at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, a museum of the decorative arts and design located in the Louvre’s western wing.

This will make her one of only three American artists--joining Louis Comfort Tiffany and Alexander Calder--and the only female American artist to receive such an honor.

“Temple St. Clair is a storyteller. As she delves into astronomy, the Middle Ages and antiquity, her work represents a luxurious and voluptuous vision,” said Dominique Forest, chief curator of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art, Jewelry at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

The museum chose St. Clair’s 18-karat gold eight-ring “Tolomeo” pendant with multicolored sapphires to add to its assortment.

The center of her Celestial collection, its design is inspired by first century astronomer Ptolemy’s hypothesis that the Earth was at the center of the universe, with the notion of planetary rotation around a solitary center serving as its focal point.

According to the brand, her design also was inspired by constellations, the “constant ebb and flow of the cosmos” and the beginning of humanity’s existence.

The necklace officially will be added to the museum’s collection this fall; a final date will be announced in the coming weeks, according to a spokesperson for the brand.

“Les Arts Décos is among the finest museums in the world and one of my very favorites. To have my own work included in the permanent collection among so many masters of art and design is a magnificent honor,” St. Clair said.

She founded her brand in Florence, Italy in 1986, working with the city’s best goldsmiths.

The 2016 winner of the Gem Award for Jewelry Design is known for combining rare colored gems with distinctive gold work to create stories about the Earth and the cosmos.

Her work has already appeared in the Louvre, albeit in a temporary setting--her nine-piece collection of haute jewelry, Mythical Creatures from the Golden Menagerie, made its début at the museum in January 2015.