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 Exhibition Highlights  IntroductionExplore why the pearl is so often associated with glamour, religion, royalty, and tradition. See a 12th-century French chalice, a 19th-century Nepalese royal turban crown, and a classic cultured pearl necklace that Joe DiMaggio presented to Marilyn Monroe on their honeymoon. What are Pearls? Learn how mollusks form these treasures and find out why pearls seem to glow from within. An interactive display with images from an electron microscope lets you examine the layered structure of a pearl at a magnification of up to 50,000 times actual size. Central Gallery Admire the splendors that nature and humans can create. See the incredible diversity of pearl-producing mollusks and be dazzled by pearl-studded objects from around the world. To see a sample of some of these pearls, return to the Pearls homepage. Marine Pearls Meet the mollusks—each with its own unique form, history, and ecology—that produce pearls in the world’s oceans. See the largest perfectly round pearls ever found, along with pink pearls from the Queen Conch, blue-green pearls from the abalone, and orange melo pearls from Baler Shells. Freshwater Pearls See how cultures worldwide have prized freshwater pearls. Discover how Muscatine, Iowa, became the pearl button capital of the world and why the Midwest plays a central role in the global production of cultured pearls. Gathering and Culturing Examine centuries of pearl gathering and cultivation. Delve into the dangers of pearl diving, the earliest efforts to encourage pearl growth in China some 1,600 years ago, and the modern pearl industry. Pearls in Human History See a stunning variety of objects from Europe, Asia, and the Americas that illuminate the pearl’s appeal across time and culture. Don’t miss: La Peregrina, the famous pearl that journeyed from the American waters (where it was discovered by a slave), through many royal hands in Spain, England and France, only to be brought back to America by Richard Burton for his wife, Elizabeth Taylor. |
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