The inspiration behind the innovation... These diamond and platinum Cartier brooches were bought by Sir Ernest Cassel, the British financier and friend of King Edward VII, at the end of 1903 as a gift for his sister, Bobby. Typical of Louis Cartier's inventive focus, they could be ingeniously connected in numerous ways to form a stomacher, a necklace, a corsage ornament, or a tiara, and even came with a little spanner- head screwdriver to do so (4th image from Cartier Collection jewellery book showing necklace and tiara possibilities).
Historically they have been called 'fern-spray' brooches but in the current @vamuseum Cartier exhibition in London, they are referred to as wisteria and shown alongside a convincing hanging wisteria illustration from 'Le Japon Artistique' (second image), one of the many illustrated books the brothers and their design teams used for inspiration. And as the wisteria is in full bloom at the moment over in sunny England I thought I'd put the two side by side.
Pretty spectacular in person - a photo doesn't do it justice, the way it catches the light and is ingeniously articulated - definitely worth seeing in person if you can!
#cartierexhibition #antiquecartier #jewelleryinspiration
