Flights of Fancy: L’Ecole Middle East Explores The Mighty And Majestic Bird Motifs Throughout Jewellery History

Marie-Laure Cassius-Duranton, Exhibition Curator, Art Historian and Gemmologist shares the curatorial vision of the Poetry of Birds exhibition – an ode to birds’ transcendent symbolism and prominence in Middle Eastern creative arts

Few animals resonate as deeply with our hearts, minds and souls as birds do. Their graceful form, rhythmic chitter-chatter and – perhaps most importantly – their power of flight, has captured the imagination of human beings for hundreds, nay thousands of years. It is no wonder L’ÉCOLE Middle East has presented an exhibition that explores the representation of birds in visual arts and poetry through a Middle Eastern lens, showcasing a selection of circa 150 exquisite jewels, objects and drawings crafted by the best Western master jewellers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

For this exhibition, the team has curated an extraordinary collection of jewels, precious objects and archives associated with Middle Eastern works of art, including sculpture, ceramics, metalware, rugs, miniatures, calligraphy and contemporary photography; each a tribute to the beauty, grandeur and elegance of these ethereal and characterful creatures.

“This collection of works may seem eclectic at first glance, but the exhibition finds its coherence through poetry, especially with The Conference of the Birds by Farid al-din Attar, which is the common thread running through the exhibition and our main source of inspiration,” explains Marie-Laure, exhibition curator, art historian and gemmologist. Written in the 12th century, this text became the team’s guiding manifesto in exploring the universal resonance of the theme, delving into the literal, allegorical, moral and mystical aspects of the world of birds. “I worked with a French edition published by Leili Anvar, a specialist of Persian poetry and spirituality,” says Marie-Laure, who has kept the book by her side for months. “The text is illustrated with a magnificent selection of Eastern Islamic paintings chosen by Michael Barry, an art historian specialising in Eastern civilisations, and thanks to it, I have discovered an entire new world of beauty and complexity.”

This is the experience promised for guests of the exhibition, too. Ushering visitors on an imaginary and poetic journey, the showcase brings together exceptional examples of jewellery from across time and myriad styles,always striking the perfect balance between education and emotion. “Building an exhibition is a unique way of passing on knowledge, it is highly connected to emotion and sensuality,” states Marie-Laure. “The entire body is involved in an exhibition. The aim is not only to teach and educate, but also to surprise, move and amaze visitors through the choice of objects – the way they are displayed in the space, the lighting, the colours and even the soundscape. Birdsongs can be heard throughout the exhibition,” she enthuses.

Poetry of Birds is the culmination of much harmonious teamwork between the L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts teams. “During this adventure I am also grateful to have met great specialists of Islamic arts such as Entisar Muean Al Obeidli, Curator at the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, and Anne-Lise Tropato, Researcher on the history of falconry at the New York University of Abu Dhabi,” explains Marie-Laure. With their expertise, the historian began to reveal the full significance of bird motifs in the visual arts and poetry throughout the region and over the ages. “What struck and moved me most was discovering the importance of poetry in the Middle East, an art form that is still so vibrant and omnipresent in people’s lives, much like the importance of falconry, which is also a major art and lore here.” As a potent symbol of power and protection in Gulf heritage, the falcon does indeed dominate the exhibition’s section dedicated to birds of prey. Its bounty contains some extraordinary examples of savoir-faire, including an exceptional brooch by master jeweller JAR, which depicts a falcon’s head with a collar adorned with citrines and garnets. A precious falcon sculpture crafted by Cartier in the 1970s is brought to life in silver, gold and natural citrine, resting on hand-carved verdite with its head covered by a feathered hood, while a contemporary piece by Buccellati represents another ultra-naturalistic falcon in silver.

This significance is also illustrated by the extraordinary level of artisanry employed in each piece, where boundless vitality is breathed into gleaming plumage and majestic mid-flight forms thanks to painstaking hours of meticulous craftsmanship. “We wanted to gather jewels and precious objects depicting not only birds of various species, but also a wide variety of postures, attitudes, actions and styles; at rest and in flight, bold and dramatic, noble and elegant, cute and funny,” says Marie-Laure. Marie-Laure also highlights a series of boxes and beauty accessories in open work and chiseled silver by Boucheron, which depict various species of birds in different poses, including parrots, parakeets and birds of paradise. To those not immersed in the jewellery arts, it is a little known fact that these trinkets were produced in their tens of thousands after World War II, and are actually one of the best-selling items in the company’s history.

The popularity of such items underscores the exhibition’s overall emphasis on how integral bird emblems and symbols are to the visual arts, while also reminding us that throughout history and into the present day, jewellery is employed as its own language; worn about our person to wordlessly reflect meaning and convey stories. “Jewels are part of our system of representation as individuals. They speak for us, about our personal tastes, but they also connect us to a given society,” reveals Marie-Laure.

“A jewel is at the same time intimate and public; like other art forms, it carries a wealth of meaning, even if we aren’t aware of it,” she adds. Through L’ÉCOLE’ expert curation, we learn that bird-themed treasures are rarely just mere luxury trinkets employed to indicate affluence. “In traditional societies, birds and feathers worn as ornaments are mostly related to status, but because of its ability to fly – the bird is a singular creature between the heavens and earth – there is also an important sacred dimension to their symbolism too,” she explains. “I hope that our new exhibition’s topic will attract new visitors, including people who are not particularly interested in jewellery, but who will want to come because of birds, falconry and poetry. Our idea is to celebrate the universal dimension of beauty through poetry, the arts and jewellery.” It will, without doubt, also charm those who simply appreciate birds as bewitching creatures who even in ultra-cosmopolitan cities such as Dubai are never far away, whether their soft beat of wings above our heads, the hubbub of their comings and goings in trees or the downy mementos of their omnipresence that often go unnoticed underfoot.

“Since I started to work on the exhibition, I’ve become much more attentive to birds in general; I am fascinated by their diversity, beauty and intelligence, and greatly enjoy observing them,” notes Marie-Laure, who remembers admiring sparrows, blackbirds, robins and chickadees as a young child. Today, her favourites are the peacock, owls and the handsome hoopoe, but she struggles to select a best-loved exhibit from Poetry of Birds. “As a jewellery lover, it is simply impossible to choose one item from such exceptional pieces, but I keep Attar’s poem close to my heart; Poetry belongs to everyone, it is a jewel for the soul.”

L’ÉCOLE Middle East’s exhibition, Poetry of Birds, will run until 24 April 2026 at Dubai Design District, Building 10; lecolevancleefarpels.com.

Lead Image Credits: The Van Cleef & Arpels Swallow clip, circa 1927, is made from platinum, ruby and diamonds

From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia January 2026 Issue