The Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art is a museum dedicated to the lapidary arts with displays of gemstones,

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry ( U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a w ...

and bejeweled objects, and exhibits on earth science. The museum was founded in

Elmhurst, Illinois Elmhurst is a city mostly in DuPage County and overlapping into Cook County in the U.S. state of Illinois, and a western suburb of Chicago. As of 2021, the city has an estimated population of 47,260. History Members of the Potawatomi Native ...

, United States, in 1962, but moved to

Oak Brook, Illinois Oak Brook is a village mostly in DuPage County with a small portion in Cook County in Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 8,163. This suburb of Chicago has the headquarters of several companies and organizations including Ace Ha ...

in 2019.

History

The Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art was opened on November 4, 1962. The museum was founded by Joseph Lizzadro, an Italian immigrant to the United States who began collecting jades as part of his interest in cutting and polishing precious stones for jewelry. His collection came to include pieces made of

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In ...

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

agate Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Anci ...

, and other gemstones. As his collection grew, he made an agreement with the city of Elmhurst, Illinois, and the Elmhurst Park District to open a museum in the city's Wilder Park. The Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art is a Smithsonian affiliate. It has curated several exhibitions of jewelry from the Smithsonian's collections. In 2017, the museum made plans to move from Elmhurst to a new building in Oak Brook, Illinois, to gain space and provide more modern amenities to visitors. This move began in 2019, but, due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, it was unable to reopen until 2021.

Collections

The lapidary arts form the core of the Lizzadro Museum's collections, particularly jade carvings. However, the museum also displays a selection of uncarved gemstones,

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

s, and other minerals, as well as sculptures,

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

s, dioramas, and a miniature castle made of carved stone and gold called "Castle Lizzadro".

References

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External links

Official website
1962 establishments in Illinois Museums established in 1962 Art museums and galleries in Illinois Science museums in Illinois Asian art museums in the United States Decorative arts museums in the United States Museums in DuPage County, Illinois Oak Brook, Illinois