Vacheron Constantin organized an elegant evening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York as part of the inauguration of “African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva: a Legacy of Collecting”, an exhibition dedicated to the masterpieces from the Barbier-Mueller family collection and supported by Vacheron Constantin. 250 guests enjoyed dinner and witnessed the world-first presentation of the 4 latest “Métiers d’Art Les Masques” timepieces.
The dinner was held in the Temple of Dendur, set beneath the museum’s huge glass roof looking out onto Central Park. During the evening, guests enjoyed a preview of the Barbier-Mueller Museum exhibition and a dance performance by artists from the prestigious Juilliard School featuring a sound and light choreography evoking the four continents from which the “Métiers d’Art Les Masques” creations originate. Guests also enjoyed an exhibition of historical Vacheron Constantin timepieces and demonstrations of artistic watchmaking crafts, and in particular those of Master Engraver and Master Watchmaker.
The Métiers d’Art Les Masques” collection was unveiled for the first time at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in 2007. The collection depicts the artistic crafts cultivated by the Geneva-based watch manufacture, and in particular that of Master Engraver. Each model features an authentic mask reproduced and miniaturized on a watch dial. The original masks that inspired this collection are from the private collection of the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva, the world’s largest private collection of primitive art. Three series – one per year, in a limited edition of 25 each – have thus been presented in boxed sets of four creations representing four different masks from 4 distinct regions of the world: Asia, the Americas, Oceania and Africa.
You may click these scenes from the evening to view larger versions:
Vacheron Constantin CEO Juan-Carlos Torres with Monique Barbier-Mueller
Vacheron Constantin executives with the Barbier-Mueller family
Juan-Carlos Torres addresses the guests
Juilliard dancers perform
