Cartier exhibit examines the influence of Islamic art on its creations
Next time you put on earrings, a necklace or any other piece of jewellery, take a moment to study it. Is its detail perhaps characterised by an almond-shaped mandorla or boteh droplet? Western jewellery manufacturers have been highly influenced by Islamic art since the Middle Ages – and French luxury brand Cartier is no exception, as shown in a Paris exhibition.
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“We wanted to put these Islamic objects on an equal footing with the jewellery created by the House of Cartier," says Evelyne Possémé, chief curator of ancient and modern jewellery at the Museum of Decorative Arts, where the exhibit is being shown.
The first part explores the origins of Cartier’s interest in Islamic art and architecture, while the second showcases the geometric patterns typical of Islamic art and how Cartier applied, and continues to apply, them to its own creations, with examples on display.
An eye-catching motif that forms part of this section of the exhibit is the stepped merlon, an architectural style that dates back to antiquity and which can be found on the walls of mosques and certain buildings in Muslim countries.
The motif, which is also typical of Art Deco jewellery, dates back to the [Islamic] civilisation,” Possémé tells RFI.
"This is a completely new way of presenting the jewels and of demonstrating ... that they don’t come from nothing.
"[The designers] were inspired by these motifs and played with them to create something new.”
Rich history
Founded in 1847 by Louis-Francois Cartier, the House of Cartier started out selling jewellery and works of art.
One of the Cartier's sons, Louis, who was in search of new sources of inspiration, attended exhibits dedicated to Islamic art at Paris’s Museum of Decorative Arts in 1903 and then again in Munich in 1910.
By the beginning of the 20th century, Paris had become the epicentre of the Islamic art trade.
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Curators spent three years researching and putting together this collection, on display until 20 February, 2022, because they wanted to remind people of the importance Islamic art had on French creations.
"We feel that people have forgotten," says Judith Henon-Raynaud, deputy director of the Department of Islamic Art at the Louvre Museum.
The subject of this exhibition is “a story that had not yet been written,” she adds.
– "Cartier and Islamic Art: In Search of Modernity" is on show at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 107 Rue de Rivoli, Paris.
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