Scarab Brooch: English, c. 1865. From the collection of Nancy and Gilbert Levine

TOLEDO, OH.- The Toledo Museum of Art opened the exhibition Radiant Ensemble: Jewelry from the Nancy & Gilbert Levine Collection, the exhibition showcases one of the most important collections of European jewelry made between 1785 to 1885 and is a promised gift to TMA. The exhibition will be on view in the Glass Pavilion through March 1, 2009.

As winter glitters with frost and ice, the Glass Pavilion will sparkle with radiant historical jewelry from the collection of Nancy and Gilbert Levine. This promised gift to TMA is one of the most important collections of European jewelry made between 1785 to 1885. Mrs. Levine and her late husband collected these exquisite works first for their love of beauty and technical virtuosity. Only later did they discover that their collection had grown to the point that further focus was required. Focusing on the late 18th through the late 19th century allowed them to home in on Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian jewelry that was worn to communicate social standing, as mourning accoutrement, souvenirs, and more. This free exhibition in the Glass Pavilion celebrates not only the works in the collection, but also the Levines’ connoisseurship and the collecting philosophy that created this dazzling array of parures, demi-parures, brooches, rings, and bracelets. More than 150 ensembles and individual ornaments, some in their original boxes, represent the period’s eclectic styles, notable for ingenious techniques and imaginative designs.

Gold, silver, diamond, and enamel brooch: French, ca. 1860. From the collection of Nancy and Gilbert Levine

Gold and enamel necklace. French, ca. 1820. From the collection of Nancy and Gilbert Levine