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Giovanni Bonello (Ed), Vanity, Profanity & Worship: Jewellery from the Maltese Islands, 2013. Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti in association with Allied Publications, 428 pp.

The Vanity, Profanity & Worship – Jewellery from the Maltese Islands exhibition at the Casino Maltese, which closes today, captured the imagination of the Maltese with a dazzling display of jewellery from across the ages.

The accompanying catalogue, published by Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, organisers of the exhibition, in association with Allied Publications, promises to achieve the same, with a beautiful, hard-bound publication that walks you through every section of the exhibition, presenting a permanent memory of the collection, which is highly unlikely to find itself all together under one roof ever again.

Beautifully laid out, the pages offer a lasting memento that will be treasured by anyone who loves art, history and jewellery

The catalogue opens with a foreward by FPM executive chairman Maurice de Giorgio, who succinctly explains the idea behind the exhibition and the manner in which it was achieved.

As he aptly states, nowhere is the slogan “diamonds are a girl’s best friend” so perfectly captured as in this exhibition, but as he rightly continues, neither the catalogue’s, nor the exhibition’s appeal are in fact limited to the fairer gender.

Edited by Giovanni Bonello, the rest of the catalogue proves this with a series of well-written and researched papers by various scholars and experts in the field.

Exhibition curator Francesca Balzan’s introduction goes a long way to shed some light on the way the exhibition came together, explaining that it saw the light of day as a result of a study she herself had published some years ago about jewellery in Malta during the Knights’ period.

Both exhibition and catalogue, of course, go way further than this, and are both organised thematically “to reflect key points that mark out the history of jewellery in Malta”.

A paper about Amulets: Faith, Myth and Superstition, by Michelle Galea, focuses on the section that showcases the oldest exhibits.

Here, you will find fertility amulets, protective ones and decorative items. Galea’s expla-nation of how many of the exhibits, most of which were discovered through archaeological excavations, were tied to the superstitious and beliefs of the time, is fascinating.

The catalogue switches temporarily to Italian (albeit with an abstract in English) for Maria Concetta Di Natale’s paper about La Croce dei Cavalieri di Malta: Emblema-gioello nell’area Mediterranea.

Di Natale’s paper offers an insight into the influence the Knights left on Malta, which included the island’s style and aesthetics.

She goes into quite a bit of detail about individual members of the Order and their precious items of jewellery and other personal adornment, with particular refer-ence, of course, to the Maltese Cross.

Albert Ganado’s paper talks about Maltese Jewellers in Three Major Exhibitions – 1851, 1864 and 1886.

It is interesting to read that, as early as 1851, the importance of Maltese craftsmanship was already being celebrated in the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London. Ganado writes how Malta was celebrated for the “fineness and delicacy of its work in gold and silver”. Of particular note is the photography by Richard Ellis that accompanies this paper.

The curator also writes about Picturing Jewellery in 19th-century Malta, giving an overview of the political machinations of the era, right after Malta passed through its ‘French phase’ under Napoleon Bonaparte. Balzan traces the influence of the British rule that followed, describing how the British community’s “lively social life”, and the numerous society events organised also meant that jewellery design flourished and evolved.

A paper focusing on Jewellery from Portraits and Anecdote, by Nicholas de Piro, follows. Charmingly equating the Order of the Knights of St John with our very own nobility, thanks to their “trimmings” and “aristocracy”, De Piro goes on to chronicle the rituals and traditions that surrounded the lives of both the knights and the Maltese nobility – with one of the biggest traditions being the family and individual portraits.

A paper by Marika Azzopardi focuses on filigree jewellery, while Amanda Triossi pays homage to designer Andrew Grima.

The catalogue continues with beautifully laid out visuals, grouped according to the exhibition themes.

The pages offer a lasting memento that will be treasured by anyone who loves art, history and jewellery.