Paloma Picasso's 1988 brooch for Tiffany & Company.
Photo: Courtesy of the American Museum of Natural History/© Tiffany & Company Archives
It’s making a comeback in fashion and interior design, and now you can check out the real thing: Golden objects and specimens shine at the American Museum of Natural History’s “Gold” exhibition, which brings together pre-Columbian jewelry, the first gold coins (minted in what is now Turkey), rare crystallized gold, shimmering gold bars, nuggets, textiles—even such modern-day examples as best-selling gold records, Academy Award statuettes, and Olympic medals. The show delves into the metal’s cultural and geological history; highlights include a specially designed 12- by 12-foot room with eight-foot-high panels, gilded entirely with three ounces of gold—its walls and ceiling covered in 300 square feet of the rich yellow stuff. The show runs through August 19.
