Chromatic Relics
These gemstones are created from surplus paint pigments produced during colour matching for artwork restoration.
The project was initially inspired by a royal blue sapphire jewellery set stolen from the Louvre Museum last year, originally depicted in the portrait Marie-Amélie de Bourbon-Siciles, reine des Français, held in the Palace of Versailles collection. It later expanded through a collaboration with Tate Britain, using real pigment residues collected during the conservation of Study for The Death of the Earl of Chatham by John Singleton Copley.
Through the chemical extraction of these pigments, laboratory-grown gemstones of different colours are cultivated from conservation waste to reconstruct historical jewellery. The stones are cut using both traditional and contemporary mosaic-style faceting techniques to respond to the two paintings and their distinct historical periods, allowing traces of history, cracks, and restoration marks to continue living on in a wearable form.
Xi Li
lixiartwork@gmail.com