What do a five-foot wooden vase, an intricately carved ceramic sculpture, and a deliberately damaged bronze crown have in common? All three are products of an unusual creative partnership between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin.
Last June, CULTURED introduced three artisans selected for an 18-month residency offering rare access to the Met’s collections, mentorship from leading craftspeople, and time inside Vacheron Constantin’s workshops in Geneva. On Oct. 8, American furniture maker Aspen Golann, Egyptian-American ceramicist Ibrahim Said, and Anglo-Italian goldsmith Joy Harvey unveiled their creations at the Met. Though working in vastly different materials, all three found ways to bend centuries-old techniques toward something less familiar.
For Golann, that meant taking the decorative language of early American furniture to monumental proportions. Her five-foot-tall wooden Vessel, inspired by furniture from the 17th through 19th centuries, features intricate carvings of foliage, fruit, and horses, transforming familiar motifs into something decidedly less domestic.
Said, meanwhile, looked further back, drawing on his Egyptian heritage and ancient Islamic art to inform Shaping Time, a three-tiered ceramic structure adorned with elaborate carvings, colorful glazes, and geometric patterns.
Both artists found inspiration in the museum’s holdings, but the influence of Vacheron Constantin’s watchmaking heritage is equally present. Golann drew on the maison’s intricate engraving and enameling techniques, while Said incorporated a subtle reference to its signature Maltese Cross emblem into his sculpture. In each case, decorative traditions typically associated with smaller, functional objects take on an entirely different scale.
Harvey, however, was less interested in preserving the pristine appearance of the past. Her Ruined Splendour – Bronze Diadem reimagines ancient jewelry as a deliberately distressed bronze coronet, combining traditional metalworking with contemporary techniques such as 3D scanning.
After painstakingly constructing its intricate details, including golden flowers decorated using Vacheron Constantin’s guilloché techniques, Harvey intentionally damaged the piece. The result is a meditation on impermanence—even the most exquisite objects aren’t immune to the passage of time.
The residency marks the latest chapter in the Met and Vacheron Constantin’s ongoing partnership, established in 2023. Where Golann magnifies the past and Said reshapes it, Harvey subjects it to a little destruction. Three very different approaches, none particularly interested in leaving history exactly as they found it.
More of our favorite stories from CULTURED
Long Before Nathan Fielder’s Brand of Post-Truth, There Was Janet Malcolm
How the Elite’s Cryopreservation Obsession Is Changing the Architecture of Death
11 Gallery Shows by Living Legends on View This Month in New York
What Does Hollywood’s Recent Obsession With Monster Sex Say About Our Desires?
Every Fall/Winter 2026 Fashion Collection, Collab, and Campaign You Need to Know
Sign up for our newsletter here to get these stories direct to your inbox.
in your life?
