About

Musée de l'Argile (MDA) 

Musée de l’Argile, meaning “Museum of Clay,” is an independent jewelry brand dedicated to reinterpreting the beauty of time through the lens of contemporary aesthetics.

Our creations are rooted in three essential materials:

• Blue-and-white porcelain

Some of our pieces are crafted from antique blue-and-white porcelain shards recovered from the Ming and Qing dynasties of China (approximately late 14th to early 20th century) — an era when porcelain art reached both technical mastery and artistic refinement. From the 15th to the mid-17th century, blue-and-white porcelain was made from fine, jade-like kaolin clay, painted with cobalt blue in delicate gradients, coated with a lustrous glaze, and perfected through masterful craftsmanship. From the late 17th to the mid-18th century, its palette became richer, its motifs more intricate, depicting subjects from flowers and birds to landscapes and figures — a testament to the depth of Eastern aesthetics. Well into the early 20th century, blue-and-white porcelain continued to evolve, carrying the artistic imprint of each historical chapter.

These antique shards, sourced from private collections and archaeological recovery, are found only through a demanding and often lengthy process. Having journeyed through centuries of circulation and burial, their surfaces bear fine crackle lines, and their once-bright cobalt tones have mellowed into a soft, timeworn blue — a patina only age can bestow. To transform them into jewelry, we meticulously select from countless vessels and fragments, evaluating the completeness of the motif, the richness of the color, as well as the thickness and curvature of the shard. This ensures comfort when worn, and prevents any damage during the delicate process of hand-setting each piece in sterling silver.

Other porcelain works are hand-painted and kiln-fired in-house by our artist. Using traditional blue-and-white porcelain techniques, patterns are painted onto raw porcelain and fired once in the kiln, revealing the refined elegance of blue and white. In this way, we honor a thousand years of porcelain-making while giving each piece a contemporary, individual soul.

• Freshwater pearls

With a gentle, luminous sheen, they embody a quiet beauty shaped by the passage of time.

• Rhodium-plated 925 sterling silver

Cool and resilient, rhodium-plated 925 sterling silver provides both the structural foundation and a striking contrast to the softness of porcelain and pearls. Rhodium plating enhances its shine and durability, ensuring each piece remains as refined and elegant through daily wear as it was on the day it was made.

All three materials are rooted in nature— Porcelain originates from kaolin clay; pearls are born of water and sediment, layered over time; and silver, refined from mineral ores, is a distillation of the earth’s essence.

As our brand philosophy states: from dirt to art — from the earth it begins, to beauty it returns.