Henri Picq was a Parisian goldsmith who supplied high jewellery pieces to Cartier Paris in the early twentieth century.
The Workshop
Cartier relied on a network of specialist Parisian ateliers to manufacture its jewellery in this period. Henri Lavabre was the largest of these suppliers, manufacturing all types of objects from tiaras to clocks from his workshop in the Rue Tiquetonne. Picq was another key supplier, specialising in high jewellery pieces.
His workshop produced jewellery in the garland style period, and his maker's mark appears on Cartier pieces from roughly 1900 to 1915. Auction catalogues identify his mark on Belle Epoque platinum and diamond jewels including necklaces, brooches, and stomachers.
The 1906 Easter Egg
Among the works Picq supplied was part of the 1906 Faberge-style Easter egg, a piece now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (accession 488673). The Met credits the egg to "Picq, Césard and Guesdon," indicating it was a collaborative production across multiple Cartier workshops. The egg is made of gold, diamonds, pearls, fluorite, and enamel.
Maker's Mark
Picq's pieces can be identified by his maker's mark stamped on the metalwork. Auction houses have recorded this mark on garland-style pieces sold under the Cartier name, making it possible to attribute specific works to his workshop even though Cartier's clients would have seen only the Cartier signature.
He belongs to a group of workshop suppliers, alongside Lavabre, Rubel Frères, Verger Frères, and Strauss, Allard et Meyer, whose contribution to the physical production of Cartier objects has begun to be documented through hallmark and archival research.
Sources
- Francesca Cartier Brickell, The Cartiers (Ballantine Books, 2019), p. 66, n. 66: names Picq as a key supplier who made high jewellery including part of the 1906 egg
- Metropolitan Museum of Art, Easter Egg (1906), accession 488673: credited to "Picq, Césard and Guesdon"
