Cartier: The Making of Art
Cartier Collection and the Sichuan Museum present The Making of Art, an exhibition celebrating the creativity and uniqueness of Cartier’s creations.
Through a selection of antique pieces from the Cartier Collection, the exhibition displays Cartier’s creative process in jewellery making and virtuosity of expertise. To highlight Cartier’s strong ties with China, valuable objects in jade, lacquer and brocade from the Sichuan Museum’s collections will be exhibited alongside creations from the Cartier Collection.
The pieces in the exhibition showcase Cartier’s evolution in style from the Garland style and the Art Deco, to naturals, three-dimensional jewellery and finally the return of gold. The creative journey commence with a yellow gold and amethyst set from the 1850s and ends with a timeless tiger necklace from the 1980s.
Exclusive to the exhibition 13 historic pieces will be shown to the public for the first time, including heiress Barbara Hutton’s imperial jadeite bead necklace, for which Cartier created a calibré-cut ruby clasp in 1934. This specific piece illustrates Cartier’s attraction to this precious and noble material as well as confirming Cartier’s admiration of the Chinese culture through the daring contrast of green and red. This combination has come to represent the essence of Cartier.
The Making of Art also functions as a map reflecting the interest which Cartier has developed for different cultures across the world over time, China being one of them. With all the diversity of the pieces, Cartier’s expertise and stylistic vision runs as a common thread through each of them. As such, The Making of Art tells the story about jewellery design, encounters and inspirations across time and the story of larger-than-life figures from the Duchess of Windsor, Barbara Hutton, Gloria Swanson to actress Elizabeth Taylor. These figures had a passion for beauty in common, a passion that Cartier through time has been trusted to interpret with diversity and creativity.
Mindful of the value of its heritage Cartier has been building up the Collection with precious pieces including jewellery, watches, and clocks since 1983. Today, the Cartier Collection holds more than 1,500 pieces and continues to grow through new acquisitions.
The exhibition at the Sichuan Museum marks the Cartier Collection’s 5th exhibition in China as well as its 30th international exhibition since 1989, which was the year the exhibition L’Art de Cartier was first inaugurated at the Petit Palais in Paris.
The Making of Art will be on display until Tuesday 28 July 2015 at the Sichuan Museum in Chengdu, China.
www.cartier.com
www.scmuseum.cn
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