Sonia Kolesnikov-Jessop takes a closer look at a new Cartier exhibition in Beijing, which reveals how Chinese culture has influenced the French jeweller
In 1909, Louis Cartier sent one of his best salesmen, Jules Glaenzer, to China to assess its commercial potential. In addition to the information he gleaned, Glaenzer brought back gems and antique jewellery pieces that provided a new source of inspiration for the French jeweller’s creative repertoire, helping to expand a range that already included a few Chinese themed pieces, such as a bottle inspired by a carved-jade Chinese snuffbox sold to American banker John Pierpont Morgan in 1904.
By the 1920s, Cartier was producing a large number of jewels, timepieces and precious accessories influenced by Chinese art and decorative techniques. Along with dragons, which appear on numerous pieces, there were also more subtle Chinese references such as the Chinese character for longevity (“shou”), which appeared on jade and red enamel earrings made in 1926, and a small red inkwell that belonged to American socialite Mona von Bismarck.
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