A Virtual Wander through “Cartier and Islamic Art” at Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris
Cartier and Islamic Art: In Search of Modernity opened its door to the public last October at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. In collaboration with the Dallas Museum of Art, this exhibition presents an in-depth exploration of the various influences that Islamic Art has had on Cartier’s jewellery and precious objects since the beginning of the 20th century.
As a jewellery designer who has studied Islamic art during postgraduate, an exhibition as such is something that this writer would never want to miss. Due to travel restrictions, I ordered the exhibition catalogue as my Christmas present to make up for the fact that I couldn’t fly to Paris to visit this landmark exhibition in person. Surprisingly, just before the exhibition comes to close, I stumbled upon a link on the museum’s website that led me to a ‘virtual tour’. I ended up spending hours wandering through this exhibition from the other side of the world.
For those unfamiliar with ‘Islamic art’, it’s an umbrella term used for artistic production by the vast populations of the Islamic world from the 7th century onward, spanning across present-day Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia and India.
Cartier and Islamic Art showcases more than 500 exhibits. Alongside the precious items on display are masterpieces of Islamic art, including drawings, books, photographs and archives that have been gathered to provide insights on the origins of interest towards Islamic art in 20th-century Paris, shedding light on the creative context in which designers at Cartier were found.
“…it became clear that these gem-studded pieces are not merely a glimpse into a much broader artistic and cultural traditions found in the vast region of the Islamic world.”
Islamic art in 20th-century Paris
Towards the end of 19th century, it was through the great universal exhibitions that western public first encountered the artistic traditions from the so-called Orient. In light of the West’s expanding colonialism, works of art from the Islamic world were brought to Europe. A major Exposition des Arts Musulmans (Exhibition of Muslim Arts), for instance, was held at Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris in 1903. Paris was the epicentre of trade in Persian painting and manuscripts, and a growing appetite for Islamic works of art illuminated the ‘city of light’ that was at its brightest around 1910.
It was in the 20th century when the study of Islamic art became an established discipline. Many people believed that Eastern civilisations hold the secret to a rebirth of Western art. Interest in Islamic art was prevalent across a multitude of artistic practices in 20th-century Paris, including fashion, decorative arts and, of course, jewellery.
Before then, Cartier’s jewellery was predominated by ‘garland style’, namely platinum and diamond jewellery inspired by Louis XV and XVI styles and the characteristic scrolls that recall 18th-century wrought iron. One would’ve thought that the Maison’s embrace of oriental aesthetics was sparked by a surge of its popularity in Europe, but a closer look at the archives suggests that Louis Cartier’s admiration for Eastern civilisations had an enormous impact on the Maison’s stylistic orientation.
Louis Cartier and Islamic Art
‘Louis Cartier’s Islamic Art Collection’
As the eldest of the three brothers, Louis Cartier joined the family business in 1898, and later set up a design studio under his direction. Louis Cartier was not only an avid collector of Islamic art, but a well-informed connoisseur in the subject.
According to Judith Henon-Raynaud, Curator and Assistant to the Director of the Department of Islamic Arts at the Louvre, Louis’ collection focused primarily on Persian and Indian book arts and inlaid precious objects of the 16th and 17th centuries. The fact that some of the pieces that came into his collection had passed through the hands of Mughal sovereigns demonstrates his exquisite taste. In one of the exhibition galleries, viewers have the privilege to appreciate the breadth and depth of Louis’ Islamic art collection, which has been reunited, for the very first time, after its dispersal.
It is not clear whether Cartier’s designers had access to this collection, but it’s certain that the Maison’s design library — a treasure trove of compendiums of decorative ornaments, art history books, and Islamic art and architecture publications from the late 19th to early 20th centuries — was made available to them. Even after a century has passed, many of these books continue to serve as a never-ending source of inspiration for the ideas to take flight in precious form.
‘The Library, a never-ending source of inspiration’
Shaping an Islamic-influenced Design Repertoire
Hindu necklace (special order made by Cartier Paris in 1938)
Oriental jewels enriched Cartier’s design repertoire in every aspect, from design to colour, form to gemstones. One of Cartier’s first Indian-style designs was made in 1901 for Alexander who, later crowned as Queen Alexander, commissioned a necklace that was made in part from the Indian jewels in the Crown Jewels collection.
Cartier’s first encounter with Indian jewellery, however, went back to as early as 1872 when they started acquiring Indian jewellery. Some pieces were sold with only minor modifications, whereas the rest — the so-called apprêts (fragments of jewels and objects) made in India and the Middle East — would be integrated into new designs. While disassembling and remounting imported Indian jewels, Cartier jewellers also learned new techniques from India’s time-honoured tradition of jewellery-making, which would later be adapted to the Maison’s own creation.
Bib necklace (special order by Cartier Paris in 1947)
Since as early as the 1910s, Cartier set itself apart from its competitors by pursuing unusual colour combination. Blue sapphires were combined with green emeralds to create what Louis Cartier referred to as the ‘peacock decor’. Turquoise blue was combined with deep blue lapis lazuli, mimicking the unique colour scheme found in Iranian architecture. Even after the creative direction was passed to Jeanne Touissant in 1933, the Maison continued to introduce bold colour scheme, most notably a combination of sky-blue turquoise and purple amethyst seen in its emblematic bib necklace made in 1947.
One of the exhibition highlights is a section dedicated to the ‘lexicon of forms’ that shaped Cartier’s creative identity as we know it. As the designers waved their magic wand, forms inspired by architecture, manuscripts and textiles turned into stylised motifs, sometimes repeated to form continuous patterns. This abundance of Eastern-influenced motifs include stepped melon, mandorla, cintamani, boteh, and cypress tree, just to name a few. On display, a selection of Islamic works of art are juxtaposed with Cartier’s jewellery and precious objects, inviting viewers to visualise the creative process behind these dazzling creation.
‘Lexicons of Form’
Though it’s clear that the exhibition aims to pinpoint the important role that Islamic art has played in Cartier’s designs, it should be noted that the impact of this rich tradition, alongside various other oriental influences, was far beyond the creative output of a French jewellery house; they gave birth to a legendary style that came to be known as “Art Deco”, which influenced the design of architecture, furniture, fashion, jewellery, and everyday objects in the 1920s. One must also not forget that, long before the 20th century, the accumulation of wisdom from the Arab lands during the Islamic Golden Age opened the door to a Renaissance that allowed its western counterparts to witness a rebirth of art, culture and science.
As this writer contemplates on the precious jewels by Cartier, it became clear that these gem-studded pieces are not merely a glimpse into a much broader artistic and cultural traditions found in the vast region of the Islamic world; they serve as testimony to the upside of cultural appropriation — one that is positive, inspiring, and with historical significance. When you spot a Cartier next time, you would know that there’s so much more to it than meets the eye.
All images courtesy of Musée des Arts Décoratifs and Cartier.
Exhibition info:
Cartier and Islamic Art: In search of modernity21 October 2021 to 20 February 2022.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris
Cartier and Islamic Art: In search of modernity
May 14, 2022 to September 18, 2022
Dallas Museum of Art, Texas