A PAIR OF MOONSTONE, IVORY AND AGATE SCULPTURES, BY CARTIER

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Prospective purchasers are advised that several co… Read more

Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis-Francois Cartier. His three grandsons, Louis, Pierre and Jacques, built the house into a famous jewellery empire serving royalty, Hollywood stars and socialites. Cartier has created some of the most important jewellery and objects of art of the twentieth-century with many iconic designs such as mystery clocks, Tutti Frutti jewellery and the Panthere line. In 1983, The Cartier Collection was established with the objective of acquiring important pieces that trace the firm's artistic evolution. Today, Cartier has 200 stores in 125 countries. During the first decade of the twentieth century, Cartier created objects of vertu in the Russian style. Card cases, powder boxes, cigarette cases, and paper knives were just a few of the items, but perhaps the most fanciful were sculpted animals and flowers. According to Hans Nadelhoffer in Cartier: Jewelers Extraordinary," ... in 1916 Vogue wrote of 'Cartier's dainty hothouses in which fairy-tale trees with gold and silver trunks sprout leave of jade.'" In some of the more inventive examples trunks were sculpted out of ivory as exemplified by these two apple blossom branch sculptures. The arrangement of each flower or plant in Cartier's naturalistic repertoire was influenced by the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement, ikebana. Superb examples are the apple blossom branches that are each created with a stained ivory branch sprouting flowers. Also indebted to Japanese models were the individual calyxes detached from the plant and lying on the ground as seen on both arrangements where moonstones have fallen from the branch to the base as well as onto the floor of the case. Capturing the flower as it begins to fade illustrates the Japanese depiction of nature in its transitory state. All of Cartier's flowers and trees were housed within glass cases that not only kept the piece free of dust but also positioned the sculpture as a work of art. This pair of apple blossom branch sculptures epitomises the ingenuity and superb workmanship of this venerable house.

A PAIR OF MOONSTONE, IVORY AND AGATE SCULPTURES, BY CARTIER

Details

A PAIR OF MOONSTONE, IVORY AND AGATE SCULPTURES, BY CARTIER

Each stained ivory and enamel Japanese apple blossom branch, accented by cabochon moonstone pistils, on a rectangular or oval agate base, enclosed in a glass and wooden case, mounted in 18k gold, circa 1925, dimensions 19.3 x 16.5 x 12.5 and 17.1 x 15.5 x 7.6 cm, in two green leather Cartier cases

Signed Cartier (2)

Special Notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory, tortoiseshell and crocodile. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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Lot Essay

US$250,000-375,000

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