Judith Leiber and Art Nouveau

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Judith Leiber

Judith Leiber created exquisitely designed couture women’s accessories that blur the boundaries between function and art. Most known for her semiprecious adorned minaudières or compact occasion cases, her creations also include day bags, belts, and pillboxes.

Recognized for both her originality in design and impeccable handcrafted quality, Leiber imported materials for her bags from Europe and then constructed them in the United States. Beautifully detailed both inside and out, each tiny minaudière took months to hand fabricate with special attention paid to construction including the interior details and hardware. A single bag can weigh between one to two pounds or sometimes more. Attached one by one with tweezers, the bag’s “skin” is bedazzled with thousands of semiprecious stones and crystals such as garnets, carnelian, rose quartz, amethyst, and more.

Art Nouveau, or “new art,” is an international style of art and architecture that exploded in Paris at the turn of the 20th-century. While Leiber may not have been creating bags with Art Nouveau in mind, her opulent designs complement works of the flamboyant art movement. Judith Leiber and Art Nouveau was curated by the Taubman Museum of Art’s Community Engagement Department, taking inspiration from rhythmic lines, floral imagery, and elegant patterns that are characteristic of the Art Nouveau style.