Pearls Catalog by Hubert Bari & David Lam

Far from an ordinary catalogue, "Pearls" seeks to educate its reader on not only the beauty of the pearls and jewelry featured in the exhibition, but also on the scientific processes at work in pearl creation, on artificial cultivation, as well as on the dying craft of diving for pearls. The authors make an effort to include every aspect of a pearl’s journey, from its creation inside of a mollusk to the moment it enters the highly competitive jewelry marketplace.

The reader soon learns that most pearls are formed as a defensive reaction upon being attacked or injured, and that pearls can take many forms — blister or free, round or baroque, natural or cultivated. Discussion of cultivation, which takes place either in factories or ocean farms, is concentrated in the latter half of the book. It is a business that has boomed because, as the popularity of pearls have grown, the supply of mollusks in areas known for their pearls has greatly diminished.

"Pearls" cannot be discussed without mentioning its accompanying photography. Exquisite photographs document each shell and variety of pearl displayed in the museum’s show. Photos also chronicle the commercial process, from pearl diving or man-made cultivation to the sorting and stringing of pearls. And of course, the final product: gleaming pearl turban ornaments worn by the Mughal maharajahs of India, the pale pink Caribbean pearls owned by the British royal family, and even the infamous Mikimoto pearl necklace that Joe DiMaggio gave to Marilyn Monroe.


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