A new exhibition examines the work of Tiffany designer Jean Schlumberger and the way he was inspired by the natural world to create objects of splendor, Lin Qi reports.

He was a World War II veteran who survived the Dunkirk evacuation, in 1940. After the war, he rose to fame in the fashion world, creating jewelry designs that graced the neck, hands and chest of women aristocrats, socialites and celebrated actresses, including the Duchess of Windsor, Jacqueline Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn.

Jean Schlumberger (1907-87) incorporated his keen interest in wildlife with his gift and diligence for design to create a world of mesmerizing beauty, prompting him to turn from a young, self-taught designer, first in Paris and then New York, to become a legendary accessory designer.

His more than 20 years spent working for luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co witnessed the birth of many of Schlumberger's uniquely chic designs which helped to define 20th-century style.

He was only one of four designers permitted by the New York-headquartered company to sign their work. The other three were Paloma Picasso, the jeweler and youngest daughter of Pablo Picasso, Elsa Peretti, the model-turned-designer, and Frank Gehry, the renowned architect who once partnered with Tiffany to launch a jewelry collection.

Thanks to a five-year collaboration between the National Museum of China and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond in the United States, a selection of Schlumberger's works from the VMFA's collection are being introduced to Chinese audiences.

More than 120 accessories shown at an exhibition named after Schlumberger at the National Museum of China marks the "most comprehensive public collection" of designs by the French jeweler, and is attributed to a donation from Rachel Lambert Mellon, the noted US philanthropist and horticulturalist who was a longtime patron of Schlumberger, according to Alex Nyerges, the director and CEO of the VMFA.

Mellon often commissioned－and sometimes collaborated with him－on accessory pieces and works of art.

The exhibition running through Sept 1, Jean Schlumberger: Twentieth Century Treasures from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, is the first project arising from the cooperation agreement signed in 2018 between the two museums to exchange collections and share research and human resources.

Nyerges describes Schlumberger's body of work as a "dedication to perfection and beauty, dazzling imagination and clarity of vision", drawing inspiration from botanical and marine life that brings both beauty and a "whimsical nature" to the VMFA's collection of the French jeweler.

Born into a wealthy family involved in textile manufacturing in Mulhouse, France, Schlumberger's early interest in art was discouraged by his parents who instead sent him to Berlin to study banking.

But Schlumberger knew he had no taste for numbers, so he quit and moved to Paris to pursue a career in jewelry design. His talent then caught the attention of Elsa Schiaparelli, and the Italian couturier soon hired Schlumberger to design jewelry and buttons for her collections.

After World War II, Schlumberger moved to New York to start a small salon with his friend and later longtime partner Nicolas Bongard (1908-2000).

In 1956, they were approached by Tiffany's president Walter Hoving to open a workshop of their own at the company, which ran until their retirement in late 1970s.

One noteworthy feature of Schlumberger's designs is the innovative way he transformed the wonders of nature－exotic flowers, birds and sea life－into objects of splendor by utilizing gemstones of various kinds and a dynamic palette.

He is known for frequently traveling to South Asia－Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines－and the Caribbean, where he was constantly amazed by the dramatic beauty of the indigenous plants and wildlife. And this inspired him to recreate this energy back in his studio.

During one of their trips, Bongard recalled Schlumberger finding a seashell covered in seaweed, and the next day he saw in Schlumberger's room a rough sketch of designs inspired by the shell.

He said every piece of work in Schlumberger's workshop was unique, insightful and original. They represented the beauty of movement－and some of them could actually move.

Schlumberger once said, "I try to make everything look as if it's growing, uneven, and organic. I want to capture the irregularity of the universe."

In his later years, Schlumberger returned to live in Paris, the city where his artistic dream was first nurtured, and the place where he later died.

Diana Vreeland, a longtime friend and noted fashion columnist, wrote that Schlumberger "appreciates the miracle of jewels. For him, they are the ways and means to the realization of his dreams".

The exhibition at the National Museum of China also shows 11 centuries-old Chinese accessories from the museum's collection. Wang Chunfa, the museum's director, says the aesthetics and philosophy of the ancient Chinese pieces echo with Schlumberger's modern designs, celebrating the value of jewelry both as cultural artifacts and art that retains a lingering charm.