Brooching the subject

This autumn, the V&A unveils a captivating exhibition dedicated to Marie Antoinette, the ill-fated French queen whose brief yet eventful life continues to bewitch audiences and fuel the creative imagination. Marie-Claire Chappet traces her enduring influence on culture and fashion

Whitby jet is a rare British gemstone,’ says Sarah Steele, a gemmologist with a lifelong passion for this mysterious black stone. Whitby’s coastline is unique in the UK in being a source of jet, but –

Marie Antoinette’s passion for furniture and genius for bagatelles, however evanescent their purpose, filled the French royal palaces with beauty and charm, as Matthew Dennison reveals

When COUNTRY LIFE’s Henry Avray Tipping spotted a 17th-century four poster languishing in a Herefordshire attic in 1911, he set off a chain of events that saw the bed leave its ancestral home and land at The Met in New York

Galls, which can range from the delicately beautiful to hideously unattractive bulbous growths, are among Nature’s most intriguing phenomena, discovers Deborah Nicholls-Lee

The Palladian splendours of the King’s Dumfries House make a majestic backdrop for a curated collection of fashion from iconic British brands, paired with finely crafted jewels