Are diamonds your best friend? Then you probably should set a date with Louvre Abu Dhabi very soon as the culture museum has just launched a sparkling new exhibit.
Bringing together more than 400 works, the Cartier, Islamic Inspiration and Modern Design exhibition showcases the influence of Islamic art on Cartier’s designs from the beginning of the 20th century when Louis Cartier, grandson of the founder of the Maison, discovered these artistic traditions in a Parisian art market to the present day. The exhibition’s chapters delve into Maison’s sources of inspiration and its creative process via masterpieces of Islamic art, jewellery, drawings, design sketches, miniatures, textiles, photographs, and archival material.
“This exhibition is the result of almost five years of research in archives, drawings and photographs to discover the links between Cartier creations and Islamic art, and to identify the sources of inspiration,” says exhibition curators Judith Henon-Raynaud and Évelyne Possémé. “The result is a true immersion into the creative process and a journey through the sources that inspired some of the most innovative pieces in French jewellery.”
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So, what can we see at the new exhibit? Highlights from the Cartier Collection include a 1930 cigarette case (Paris), a 1936 Hindu necklace (Paris), and a 1937 tiara (London), alongside a collection of design sketches by pivotal Maison Cartier designer, Charles Jacqueau.
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Away from the glittering stones, aesthetes can cast their eyes on a pen box that is believed to have belonged to Mirza Muhammad Munshi, an Indian writer from the 17th century, and an 1871 glass vessel in the shape of a mosque lamp by French glass designer, Joseph Brocard.
The experience also features a temporary exhibit immersing visitors in animated patterns, as well as revealing the process behind assembling a piece of Cartier jewellery. Running until March 24, 2024, there will also be in-depth talks, cultural programmes, masterclasses and community discussion that will be held as part of the exhibition’s experience.
