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THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR (continued)
Chimaeras had been a very popular oriental motif for Cartier's Art Deco creations. The chimaera was, according to ancient Greek mythology, a fire-breathing monster with the fore-parts of a lion, its middle a goat and its rear a dragon or serpent, who ravaged Lycia until slain by the hero Bellerophon. It subsequently became to symbolise the monstrous. Cartier, however, was more interested in the imaginative and artistic value of the monster. In the 1920s, Cartier broke free the archaeological interpretations of the late 19th century and turned towards a more orientalised version most popularly employed in bangles. The actual animal heads of these bangles derived from a Chinese chimaera, the kilin.
When in 1954 the chimaera style enjoyed a renewed vogue under Jeanne Toussaint, it was reborn not as a terrifying monster but as a tame pet-like creature. They were now entirely set with rubies, emeralds, yellow diamonds and diamonds.
AN EMERALD AND DIAMOND 'CHIMAERA' BANGLE, BY CARTIER
Details
AN EMERALD AND DIAMOND 'CHIMAERA' BANGLE, BY CARTIER
Designed as two pavé-set emerald chimaeras with marquise-cut diamond detail and baguette and brilliant-cut diamond comb and jaws, circa 1970, 5.7 cm wide, with French assay marks for gold and platinum, in fitted red leather Cartier case
Signed and with maker's mark for Cartier, no. 010057
Designed as two pavé-set emerald chimaeras with marquise-cut diamond detail and baguette and brilliant-cut diamond comb and jaws, circa 1970, 5.7 cm wide, with French assay marks for gold and platinum, in fitted red leather Cartier case
Signed and with maker's mark for Cartier, no. 010057