Welcome to Encountering Beauty, a series of podcasts brought to you by Masterpiece London. I’m Thomas Marks, editor of Apollo magazine, and in these podcasts we’ll be exploring the enduring relevance and resonance of what have long been some of the most revered and versatile materials that artists have had at their disposal.

In each conversation I’ll be joined by two art dealers who exhibit at the leading art fair that is Masterpiece London – experts in different artistic fields or periods that nevertheless share particular materials between them. We’ll explore everything from wood and ceramic to marble and bronze; discussing how artists have handled, worked and transformed these materials; and why they’re prized by collectors today.

In this episode we’ll be hearing about precious stones – about how artists and patrons have lusted for their lustre across civilisations, and of how their brilliance has thrilled beholders over centuries. We’ll learn how the meanings of different stones have shifted over time and as they’ve crossed borders, and about how changing techniques of cutting or working with them have added new facets to their appeal.

I’m delighted to be joined by Sandra Cronan, one of London’s leading antique jewellery specialists, who handles important jewels from the 17th to the early 20th century; and by Keegan Goepfert,  former vice president of Les Enluminures, the New York-, Chicago- and Paris-based experts in manuscript illumination – and who also focus on rings and jewellery from the medieval and Renaissance periods. It’s great to have you both with me…

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