Brenda Foreman

Brenda Forman’s presentation on Tuesday, October 12th, entitled “The 18 Century: Elegance & Delicacy, Slanders & Heists,” explored both the aesthetics and the scandals of the period, through the mirror of jewelry.

The era produced both masterpieces of elegant design and “masterpieces” of scandal.

Design emphasized lightness, airiness, and delicacy, yet society and politics were rife with the darker arts of libel and theft.

To illustrate these concepts, Brenda recounted incidents such as the tale of the Queen’s Necklace and the story of how the French Crown Jewels were stolen from the Garde Meuble in September of 1792.