For 175 years, the word “Cartier” has been synonymous with iconic French glamour, from huge diamonds to meticulously crafted watches. But part of the jeweler's distinctive style wasn't domestic; it was inspired by intricate Islamic art.
Now, a new exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) explores how Islamic art influenced the French luxury jewellery house. Also how it helped Cartier become a household name around the world. It is the brainchild of the DMA and the Museé des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, together with Cartier. The exhibition “Cartier and Islamic Art: in Search of Modernity” opens now until September 18.
The house's love affair with Islamic art began in the early 20th century.
Then Middle Eastern artists and merchants began to bring their art and antiques to exhibitions in major European cities. Louis J. Cartier, whose grandfather Jacques Cartier had founded the French family's jewelry business in 1847, attended these exhibitions. He was fascinated by the patterns, shapes, colours and structure of Islamic art. His brother Jacques Cartier developed a similar relationship with the distinctive artistic style after his trip to India in the winter of 1911-12.
As they expanded the family business around the world, the brothers began composing Islamic art forms and techniques. Thus they applied the techniques to bracelets, watches, pins, necklaces, rings, clocks and other high-end pieces.
More than 400 objects tell the story of the evolution of Cartier's style in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In particular, glamorous tiaras, historic photographs and works of Islamic art from the DMA's rich collection.
The Cartier brothers - Louis, Jacques and Pierre - drew inspiration from India, Iran, North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and beyond to develop the brand's signature style. They then self-developed from Neoclassicism to Art Nouveau and Art Deco. For example, the colourful Tutti Frutti range of the 1920s and ’30s. They incorporated rubies, emeralds and sapphires in flower, berry and leaf shapes found in the traditional Mughal jewellery of India.
“The discovery of Islamic art was so new,” Pierre Rainero, Cartier's director of image, heritage and style, tells Holly Haber of Women's Wear Daily. “It was a fascination with new shapes that were very decorative and very different from what was in the environment.”.
The exhibition also incorporates modern digital technologies such as extreme enlargement and animated video. This will help showcase the creative process and the complexity of Cartier's pieces. Even a mechanical “breathing necklace” shows how a 1948 gold and diamond piece can be transformed to fit the neck.
Jean Scheidnes in Texas Monthly writes.
The use of technology in the exhibition “enhances the jewellery by making their intricate beauty more legible”.
However, Cartier's most famous jewel is the 45.52-carat blue Hope diamond setting. The blue diamond was mined in the late 17th century in the then Islamic kingdom of Golconda. Jean-Baptiste Tavernier, who brought the diamond to France, travelled many times to Persia and India. His descriptions of the Islamic world fascinated the French. But they used them as an excuse for colonial expansion in North Africa and India.
But an exhibition focusing on ultra-luxury jewellery that few people can afford is unlikely to change the world. Nor is it likely to ease geopolitical tensions between East and West. But museums can help bridge the gap between different cultures. This is what Islamic art expert Sabiha Al Khemir told the Smithsonian's Amy Crawford in 2010.
So Islamic art invites you to approach it and especially the jewellery that is inspired by it. Hence nasa kakea see and accept its diversity. Even try to understand that although it is small, it may have something to say. Perhaps she is whispering. Maybe you should reach out, said Al Khemir.
