The Art of Cartier Exhibition (Sep 30th to Oct 17th 2006) at the National Museum of Singapore
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Note: This is a Press Release as supplied by Cartier
Media Release
THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SINGAPORE PRESENTS
THE ART OF CARTIER EXHIBITION
FROM 30 SEPTEMBER TO 17 OCTOBER 2006
Breath held abated, aficionados of art and haute jewellery await the exciting arrival of The Art of Cartier. To be held from 30 September 2006 to 17 October 2006 at the National Museum of Singapore (NAMOS), this opulent exhibition arrives for the very first time to South East Asia.
The Art of Cartier sets the stage for what we can expect from the line-up at the new NAMOS. Programming at NAMOS will maximise the world class facilities of the Museum and create opportunities for the Singapore public to experience one-of-a-kind exhibitions, performances and film events from around the world. The exceptional selection of over 100 pieces will showcase some of the most historically significant pieces created by the atelier and personally owned by international luminaries around the world such as the Panther clip brooch (for the Duchess of Windsor), Jean Cocteau’s academician sword and the enigmatic Portico Mystery clock; just to name a few.
The Art of Cartier also pays tribute to the long term privileged relationship between Cartier and the East: a marvellous source of inspiration, from the early creations to the present: coral chimeras and dragons, Fo dogs engraved in jade, divinities enshrined in mystery clocks, delicate vanity cases decorated with lacquer or mother-of-pearl, and many more magnificent pieces. A Preview Season event of NAMOS, The Art of Cartier exhibition is one of the cultural highlights of the year that should not be missed.
THE CARTIER COLLECTION
The CARTIER COLLECTION includes more than 1300 pieces illustrating the progression of design styles and techniques in Cartier’s creations. Catalogued according to Cartier’s own archives, it gathers exceptional pieces of jewellery, tiaras, necklaces and brooches but also watches and clocks, such as the beautiful mystery clocks with their invisible mechanisms. Among the other creations are objects that are both decorative and functional: accessories for women such as the vanity cases that were so fashionable during the interwar period, precious boxes, objects for smokers and writing instruments. Worn by both the famous and the unknown, each of these pieces, re-purchased by Cartier over the past twenty years, possesses its own public or private history, witness of its era and of the artistic evolution of the House since its creation. This collection, accompanied by original drawings, has been the subject of prestigious exhibitions and is set to continue its journey around the world.
1989-90 Musée du Petit Palais, Paris
1992 Museum of Hermitage, Saint Petersburg
1995 Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Tokyo
1996 Fondation de l’Hermitage, Lausanne
1997-98 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
1997-98 British Museum, London
1999 Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico
1999 Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
2002-03 Vitra Design Museum, Berlin
2002-03 Palazzo Reale, Milano
2004 Daigo Ji Temple, Kyoto
2004 Shanghai Museum, Shanghai
2004-05 Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Cartier Collection coming exhibitions:
2006 National Museum of Singapore (September 30th – October 17th)
2007 Lisbon, The Carouste Gulbenkian Foundation (February 15th – April 29th)
Moscow, State Museums of the Moscow Kremlin (May 23rd – August 15th)
Main loans to public exhibitions (2006):
NEW YORK
“Treasures of the Titans, from 1950 to the Present”
Forbes Galleries - March 20th – July 22nd
SYDNEY
“Pearls”
National Sciences Museum
April 08th – August 06th
PARIS
Museum of the Decorative Arts
Jewellery Exhibition Hall
Permanent Loan
PARIS
The Dragons
Museum of Natural History
April 04th – November 06th
ABOUT NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SINGAPORE
At 119 years old, the National Museum of Singapore (NAMOS, pronounced nahmoss) is Singapore’s oldest museum with the youngest and most innovative soul. Designed to be the people’s museum, NAMOS prides itself on introducing cutting edge and varied ways of presenting history to redefine conventional museum experience.
More than just a space for exhibitions and artefacts, NAMOS will also distinguish itself through its challenging and vibrant festivals and events that will unleash new creative possibilities in culture and heritage. This programming will be supported by a wide range of facilities and services including F&B, retail, Resource Centre, Cinémathéque and Black Box space, Public Sculpture Garden among others. With a rich history dating back to 1887, NAMOS will reopen in December 2006.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CARTIER COLLECTION
Panther clip brooch
Cartier Paris, 1949
Platinum, white gold
Single-cut diamonds
Two pear-shaped yellow diamonds (eyes)
One 152.35-carat Kashmir sapphire cabochon Sapphire cabochons (spots) This panther is the second three-dimensional example that Cartier made for the Duchess of Windsor (the first one surmounted an emerald cabochon).
Provenance The Duchess of Windsor
Crocodile necklace
Cartier Paris,
special order, 1975
Gold
1023 brilliant-cut fancy intense yellow diamonds, weighing 60.02 carats in total
Two navette-shaped emerald cabochons (eyes)1 060 emeralds, weighing 66.86 carats in total
Two ruby cabochons (eyes)
Entirely articulated, the two crocodiles can be worn separately as brooches or together as a necklace. When worn around the neck, the feet can be replaced by clawless paws that will not irritate the skin.
Provenance Maria Félix
Portico Mystery clock
Cartier Paris, 1923
Gold, platinum, rock crystal, onyx, coral, rose cut diamonds, black enamel
Provenance Mrs Harold McCormick (Ganna Walska)
Lace ribbon brooch
Cartier Paris, 1906
Platinum, gold Cushion-shaped, marquise-cut, round old- and rose cut diamonds
Millegrain setting and collet-setting
The large motif is detachable.
Provenance Sir Ernest Cassel
Jean Cocteau’s academician sword
Cartier Paris, 1955
Gold, silver, emerald, rubies, diamonds, ivory, onyx, enamel, steel blade The guard of the sword depicting the profile of Orpheus whose myth haunted the poet, the pommel designed as an ivory lyre set with an emerald weighing 2.84 carats and two rubies, the hilt designed as a column with a coiled gold fabric-like motif in the manner of antique theatre set decoration, symbolizing tragedy, on the sheath the signature of the poet: his initials and a star, the latter also appears above in a larger ivory motif set with diamonds and rubies, the guard of charcoal-pencil shape representing his graphic works, the sheath applied with a motif inspired by the gates of the Palais Royale where Jean Cocteau lived, the end of the sheath decorated with an ivory bead grasped by a hand, representing the stone coated by snow from his play “Les Enfants terribles”
Provenance Jean Cocteau
Hindu necklace
Cartier Paris,
special order, 1936, altered in 1963
Platinum, white gold Marquise, baguette and round old-cut diamonds
Thirteen briolette-cut sapphires weighing 146.9 carat in total, two leaf-shaped carved sapphires (50.80 and 42.45 carats), sapphire beads, one sapphire cabochon Square carved emeralds, fluted and smooth emerald beads, emerald cabochons leaf-shaped carved rubies, smooth and engraved ruby beads, ruby cabochons Each emerald, ruby and sapphire bead is studded with a collet-set diamond.
Provenance Mrs. Daisy Fellowes and the Comtesse de Castéja