L'Objet Cartier

Where most Cartier books focus on jewellery and watches, this volume addresses the third strand of the house's output: decorative objects. Clocks, desk accessories, cigarette cases, frames, powder boxes, vanity cases, and other precious objects made up a substantial part of Cartier's production throughout the early and mid twentieth century, and this is the only dedicated study of that category.

Franco Cologni's access to Cartier's records — the same access that underpinned his Platinum by Cartier monograph from three years later — allows the book to treat individual objects with documented commission histories rather than treating them purely as visual material. The objects covered include the guilloché enamel desk clocks influenced by Fabergé, the Mystery Clocks, vanity cases, and the hardstone animals and flowers in the Russian taste.

Contenu

The full range of Cartier's object production from the Belle Époque through the Art Deco period, with attention to the specific craftsmen and suppliers involved, the materials used, and the clientele for whom the pieces were made. The Mystery Clock section in particular is a valuable complement to the treatment of that subject in Nadelhoffer and Rudoe.

Ou le trouver

Available secondhand in both the French and English editions. Less commonly found than Nadelhoffer but circulates in the specialist book market. The English edition (The Cartier Object) is more readily found outside France.

Cite dans

Referenced in glossary entries on Mystery Clocks, Vanity Cases, Enamel, Art Deco, and Louis Cartier.