Cartier’s hidden debt to Islamic art uneathed in new Exhibition
James Tarmy | Bloomberg | 22nd October 2021
Around 1900, Europe’s interest in Islamic art was shifting from idle curiosity to avid appreciation. Cartier, famous for its opulent ‘garland’ style – romantic bows and rounded shapes – picked up this change and started to incorporate Islamic geometric designs. It was not a passing fad but an abrupt and sustained aesthetic shift – “there’s no evolution … they used all these Islamic patterns all the time”. More images are here.