Portrait of Jeanne de Marigny, attributed to Charles (1604-92) and Henri Beaubrun (1603-77), Paris, about 1650-60, oil on canvas. Museum no. 566-1882, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

LONDON - A pearl-drop earring worn by Charles I at his execution in 1649, magnificent pearl tiaras  worn by European nobility and a necklace of cultured pearls given to Marilyn Monroe by  Joe DiMaggio in 1954 will be among the incredible array of jewels and other objects on  display in a new exhibition at the V&A this autumn. Organised in partnership with the  Qatar Museums Authority (QMA), the exhibition will explore the history of pearls from  the early Roman Empire to the present, and will be the highlight event of the Qatar UK  2013 Year of Culture.

On display will be over 200 pieces of jewellery and works of art showcasing the  extraordinary variety of colour and shape of natural and cultured pearls. The exhibition  will examine how pearls have been employed over centuries in both East and West as a  symbol of status and wealth, how tastes vary in different cultures as well as the changing  designs of jewellery with pearls.

The exhibition will begin with an insight into the natural history of pearls and the pearlfishing trade from across the Arabian Gulf to Europe and Asia, since Antiquity. A collection  of rare pearls and pearl-bearing molluscs will demonstrate how Gulf pearls have long  been some of the most desirable and valuable in the world. It will also reveal the often  dangerous working methods of pearl divers and show the trading practices of pearl  merchants in the Gulf, together with examples of equipment required for weighing and  valuing pearls. Examples of early experiments in producing cultured pearls attempted in  the 18th century by Carl Linnaeus will be shown with scientific instruments which were  used in the first half of the 20th century to distinguish between the natural and the  cultured pearl.

Abalone shell (Haliotis iris) with a mabe pearl in the shape of a worm, New Zealand © Christian Creutz, photographer

Trapezium horse conch shell with pearl (Pleuroploca trapezium), Philippines © Christian Creutz, photographer

Cymbiola imperialis shell with natural pearl, Philippines © Christian Creutz, photographer

A rare selection of natural pearls from the Qatar Museums Authority Collection.

The central focus of the exhibition will chronicle the representation of pearls in jewellery  through history, showcasing Ancient Roman jewels made as early as the 1st century AD  and taking the exhibition up to date with contemporary work made by designers  practising today. Through Antiquity myths and legends surrounded the pearl and early  examples of Roman and Byzantine jewellery will show how they were used as a sign of  power and an indicator of rank in society. In Medieval times pearls were transformed from  a symbol of luxury and ostentation into a Christian symbol representing purity and  chastity, as represented by the Hylle Jewel with the scene of the Annunciation.

Pair of earrings, Roman Empire (Egypt), AD 100-200. Gold and pearls. Museum no. M.10 & A-1966 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Gold hair ornament, set with natural ‪‎pearls‬, ‎emeralds‬ and ‪‎sapphires‬. ‪‎Roman‬. 3rd Century AD. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

During the Renaissance, as Europe experienced a period of affluence, pearls began to be  used extravagantly in jewellery and featured prominently in a new genre of portrait  painting as a mark of extreme authority and wealth. On display will be paintings and  portrait miniatures featuring nobles, courtiers and affluent merchants of society, adorned  with pearls. Other highlights from the 1600s will include ‘Queen Mary II’ pearls (1662 - 1694) as well as examples of irregular and unusual-shaped Baroque pearls forming  striking jewellery designs.

Cross pendant, Germany, 1500-40. Gold, rubies and pearls. Museum no. M.74-1953 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Bodice ornament, Spain. About 1670. Gold filigree with freshwater pearls. Collection of Deborah Elvira. Photo © Martin Vellón

The fascination with pearls continued in the 18th century. Celebrities of the day including  Marie-Antoinette, her mother the Empress Maria Theresa, Empress Catherine the Great of  Russia and Queen Charlotte, wore opulent pearls either in swags or as multiple strands  and chokers, as seen in the portrait miniature of Queen Charlotte (1781). However, wearing  jewellery was not restricted to women; men of distinction also wore jewels and  accessories. On show will be set of buttons finely enamelled and framed with pearls worn  by George III (1780).

Earrings in gold with natural seed pearls and diamonds, France, circa 1795-1810. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Lover’s Eye brooch, England, 1800-20, gold, pearls, diamonds and painted miniature. Museum no. P.56-1977, © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

In Victorian times pearls often had symbolic meanings and were found in sentimental  jewels, or as naturalistic motifs with allegorical content. Examples featured will include  the so-called ‘Dagmar necklace’ gifted to Princess Alexandra when she married the Prince  of Wales, the future King Edward VII, in 1863 and a pendant locket with black pearl  commemorating Prince Albert (1862). 

Necklace with natural pearls set in coloured gold, probably England, circa 1850. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Delicate compositions of Art Nouveau jewels sparsely decorated with pearls contrast with  the opulent application of pearls in fashionable sautoirs of the 1920s and a three-stranded  Cartier necklace with Gulf pearls designed in the 1930s. An Art Deco brooch by Jean  Fouquet (1937) was in its period as innovative as the contemporary designs of the Munich  jeweller Stefan Hemmerle with rare melo pearls (2011). The figurative creations of  Geoffrey Rowlandson (1999) and the complex use of pearls in Sam Tho Duong’s necklace  (2011) will illustrate the diversity of contemporary jewellery designs with pearls.

Brooch with natural brown pearls set in platinum and diamonds, France, 1900. © Albion Art.

Bodice ornament in gold with enamel, turquoise, abalone pearl and mother-of-pearl by George Fouquet, Paris, circa 1900. On loan from the Sparkasse Pforheim Calw Art Foundation. Photo by Rudiger Floter © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2013

'Forget-me-nots' tiara. Designed and made by Paul Gabriel Liénard (born 1849), Paris. About 1905. Horn, gold, diamonds and pearls. Qatar Museums Authority © Albion Art

Necklace with five graduated strands, Cartier, France, 1930-40, platinum, diamonds and natural Gulf pearls. Qatar Museums Authority. Photo © Sotheby's

Melo and brown diamond earrings, made and designed by Hemmerle, Munich, Germany, 2001, rose gold, red gold, pave-set fancy brown diamonds, melo pearl bouton and melo pearl drop. Private Collection. Courtesy Hemmerle

Grand Jeté' brooch. Made and designed by Geoffrey Rowlandson (born 1931), London, 1999, 18 carat gold, brilliant-cut diamonds and cultured baroque pearls. Private Collection © Geoffrey Rowlandson

'Frozen' by artist Duong Sam Tho, silver nylon and freshwater pearls, 2011. Photo © Petra Jaschke.

Snow White Wrist Piece 'A Fusion of Winter Snow and Spring Flowers'. Made and designed by Nora Fok (born 1952), London, 2012. 3-D printed white plastic, cultured white pearls. Private Collection © Frank Hills, photographer

A Maharaja’s coat from India richly embroidered with pearls (1870), an Imperial Robe from  China studded with pearls and a Chinese wedding head-dress (1800-1911) will examine the  significance of pearls in the Far East. They will be shown alongside tiaras formerly  belonging to the British and European high nobility, such as the Rosebery pearl and  diamond Tiara (1878), as well pieces worn by celebrities of today, including Elizabeth Taylor’s Bulgari pearl-drop pendant earrings (1972).

Imperial Court Robe. China, Qing dynasty, about 1870-1911. Embroidered silk, silk and gold threads, corals and pearls. Museum no. T.253-1967 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Drawing of a Court Necklace worn by the Emperor, China, 1750-66. Ink and colour on silk. Museum no. 827-1896 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The Rosebery Pearl and Diamond Tiara, London, 1878, gold, silver, diamonds, natural bouton pearls and natural drop-shaped pearls. Qatar Museums Authority. Photo © Christie's

Elizabeth Taylor’s Pair of Natural Pearl and Diamond Ear Pendants, by Bvlgari. A Gift from Aaron Frosch. Photo: Christie’s Ltd. 2012

The exhibition will also follow the invention of the cultured pearl and its production on an  industrial scale initiated by Kokichi Mikimoto in Japan. He succeeded in developing the  necessary technology to establish ways of making pearls affordable for every woman to  wear. Today in East Asia and the South Seas an impressive variety of cultured pearls are  found in unusual colours.

Sash clip ‘Yaguruma’ (Wheels of Arrows) and box, Mikimoto, Japan, 1937, platinum, 18 carat white gold, cultured Akoya pearls, diamonds, sapphires and emeralds. © Mikimoto Pearl Island, Japan

Sash clip 'Cherry Blossom', Mikimoto, Japan. About 1910,15 carat gold coated with platinum, cultured half pearl, small natural pearls and diamonds © Mikimoto Pearl Island, Japan

'Gothic' choker, Mikimoto, Japan, 2011, 18 carat white gold, diamonds and Akoya pearls © Mikimoto Pearl Island, Japan

The jewellery and works of art will be drawn from the V&A and QMA’s collections, alongside  objects from British collections including Tate Britain, the British Museum and the Royal  Collection and established jewellery houses such as YOKO London, Mikimoto, Tiffany & Co,  Bulgari, Cartier, Chaumet and René Lalique.

Necklace from the Carnevale Collection, made by Yoko, London, 2013, 18 carat white gold, diamonds, natural colour pink and orange freshwater pearls, golden Indonesian South Sea and white Australian South Sea pearls, grey and blue Tahitian pearls. © Yoko London

The exhibition will be a highlight for the Qatar UK 2013 Year of Culture which aims to forge  new partnerships in education, sport, creative industries and science, while promoting an  awareness and appreciation of each other’s culture, achievements and heritage.

21 September 2013 – 19 January 2014

Icon with Virgin and Child, Ivan Nikolaev Mnekin, Moscow, Russia, 1886. Gilded silver, painting on metal, enamel and Russian freshwater pearls. Qatar Museums Authority. Photo © Sotheby's