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Lot 231European fascination with the arts of the Far East began to flourish in the early seventeenth century with the rise of the Dutch and British East India Companies. Traders brought to Europe Chinese silks, porcelain and lacquer, fueling continental passions for these precious and exotic goods. By the middle of the eighteenth century, almost every European palace had its "Chinese" lacquer cabinet. But European interest with Chinese themes was not short-lived, and at the end of the nineteenth century, oriental themes enjoyed a renewed popularity. Jewelers, in particular, looked to Chinese motifs and materials for inspiration.
The Art Deco vanity case combined both the form and the functions of an evening bag. The name indicated the contents: powder compact, lipstick and mirror; its ancestor was the boite-a-rouge-et a-mouches of the age of Louis XV. In the context of the vanity case, Chinese lacquer-work from the eighteen and nineteenth centuries had an outstanding significance and achieved complete integration with the taste of Art Deco. This Cartier vanity case is a perfect example of the integration of the two styles.
Beginning in 1924, Cartier used true mother-of-pearl lacquer to create his Chinese-inspired Art Deco vanity cases. From ancient times, Chinese mother-of-pearl was valued for the rose, lavender-blue and shimmering greens of the thin, innermost layers of sea and freshwater mollusks. Early mother-of-pearl inlays from the Tang dynasty were too thick to permit the iridescence of the full color range, but the craftsmen of the Ming and Ching periods used tissue-thin slivers to produce delicately scintillating effects which they heightened still further by the application of artificial colorings.
Mother-of-pearl had a magical authority within the Taoist scheme. Moonbeams and the dust of powdered mother-of-pearl were the food of the immortal He Xiangu and its insubstantial shimmering colors were, for the Taoist, a token of eternity. Mother-of-pearl was a favorite material in depictions of the Taoist Paradise of the West, which showed the caves of the Eight Immortals, the goddess Djivangmu riding on her phoenix and the Peaches of Immortality which ripened every three thousand years.
The mother-of-pearl used by Cartier in the 1920s was not taken directly from the shells of mollusks but were taken from already existing Chinese bowls, trays and tables, thus sacrificing the original decorative context. Because of their small format, the motifs that came to hand were not concerned with the great themes of Taoist mythology. Even so, they conjure up the poetic and allegorical feeling for nature at the heart of Taoism. We observe in this box a sage with his disciple in a pine grove. This panel, which sits inside an Art Deco ensemble of coral and jade, is embellished with cabochon rubies that trace the line of a bridge and stars that shimmer through the facets of rose-cut diamonds. The geometric patterns decorating the sides of the box are also of Chinese design.
The Art Deco vanity case combined both the form and the functions of an evening bag. The name indicated the contents: powder compact, lipstick and mirror; its ancestor was the boite-a-rouge-et a-mouches of the age of Louis XV. In the context of the vanity case, Chinese lacquer-work from the eighteen and nineteenth centuries had an outstanding significance and achieved complete integration with the taste of Art Deco. This Cartier vanity case is a perfect example of the integration of the two styles.
Beginning in 1924, Cartier used true mother-of-pearl lacquer to create his Chinese-inspired Art Deco vanity cases. From ancient times, Chinese mother-of-pearl was valued for the rose, lavender-blue and shimmering greens of the thin, innermost layers of sea and freshwater mollusks. Early mother-of-pearl inlays from the Tang dynasty were too thick to permit the iridescence of the full color range, but the craftsmen of the Ming and Ching periods used tissue-thin slivers to produce delicately scintillating effects which they heightened still further by the application of artificial colorings.
Mother-of-pearl had a magical authority within the Taoist scheme. Moonbeams and the dust of powdered mother-of-pearl were the food of the immortal He Xiangu and its insubstantial shimmering colors were, for the Taoist, a token of eternity. Mother-of-pearl was a favorite material in depictions of the Taoist Paradise of the West, which showed the caves of the Eight Immortals, the goddess Djivangmu riding on her phoenix and the Peaches of Immortality which ripened every three thousand years.
The mother-of-pearl used by Cartier in the 1920s was not taken directly from the shells of mollusks but were taken from already existing Chinese bowls, trays and tables, thus sacrificing the original decorative context. Because of their small format, the motifs that came to hand were not concerned with the great themes of Taoist mythology. Even so, they conjure up the poetic and allegorical feeling for nature at the heart of Taoism. We observe in this box a sage with his disciple in a pine grove. This panel, which sits inside an Art Deco ensemble of coral and jade, is embellished with cabochon rubies that trace the line of a bridge and stars that shimmer through the facets of rose-cut diamonds. The geometric patterns decorating the sides of the box are also of Chinese design.
AN EXTREMELY RARE ART DECO LACQUER, ENAMEL AND GEM-SET "CHINOISE" VANITY CASE, BY CARTIER
Price Realised
USD 82,250
More Information
Specialist note
Cf. Judy Rudoe "Cartier: 1900-1939", Harry Abrams, Inc., Publishers, New York, 1997, page 198