Baccarat Crystal Shines in Bordeaux Showcase All that glitters is not gold, and that’s all right if we are talking Baccarat, one of the world’s finest crystal manufacturers. When Baccarat is not the intended centerpiece, as a striking chandelier or an elegant vase at a dining table, the haute French house’s table service closely competes to outshine at any soirée.The exhibition “Baccarat: Legendary Crystal” at the Bernard Magrez Cultural Institute in Bordeaux, on show through September 27, glimpses at the manufacturer’s rise to becoming the crown jewel at some of the most distinguished tables.In 1764, Louis XV authorized the Bishop of Metz to open a glass factory in the Lorraine village of Baccarat. Over 250 years, Baccarat’s chandeliers and candelabras have come to light regal rooms, and its table service has adorned banquets of royalty and presidents.The small 18th-century Château Labottière is a natural jewel box to showcase some of Baccarat’s signature pieces, such as the 1841 Harcourt service. With a hexagonal foot and red crystal accent, the series was commissioned by King Louis-Philippe and holds the honor of the oldest service still in the catalogue ($575 a glass).Louis XVIII made the first royal Baccarat commission in 1823. A display of custom table service for three French kings reflects the personal characteristics of each monarch. For the obese gourmand Louis XVIII, there is masculine, tall and imposing tableware. Charles X’s crystal is curvy and elegant, befitting the ladies’ man, and the solid Harcourt includes a veritable chalice for the conservative, old school Louis-Philippe.A table set for a state dinner gives Franklin D. Roosevelt an unfussy glass emblazoned with the American flag and his initials. A queenly goblet stands for Isabelle of Spain, and Tsar Nicolas’s service is the most striking and extravagant of all, reaching skyward on a long, slender stem like a candlestick, or a scepter doubling as a glass.The exhibition also pays homage to designer Georges Chevalier who smoothed the edges of Baccarat into modernity over half a century and expanded the company’s offering beyond table service. Chevalier paved the way for today's collaborations with contemporary artists such as Marcel Wanders, whose chandelier tribute to the Sun King hangs over Jaime Hayon’s whimsical vases and Ettore Sottsass’s colorful architectural pieces.The five small rooms, each crowned by a Baccarat chandelier, are a dazzling feast but only give a limited view of the company’s evolution from glass to luxury crystal. For comprehensive insight on Baccarat’s history and its artisans’ savoir faire, crystal aficionados will have to venture to manufacturer’s château museum in Lorraine.“Baccarat: Legendary Crystal” at the Bernard Magrez Cultural Institute in Bordeaux is on show through September 27.
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