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Property of a lady of title CARTIER A MAGNIFICENT DIAMOND TIARA Of kokoshnik inspiration, articul...

Currency:USD Category:Everything Else / Other Start Price:NA Estimated At:200,000.00 - 300,000.00 USD
Property of a lady of title CARTIER A MAGNIFICENT DIAMOND TIARA Of kokoshnik inspiration, articul...
Property of a lady of title
CARTIER
A MAGNIFICENT DIAMOND TIARA
Of kokoshnik inspiration, articulated openwork design of millegrain quadrilobe motifs, set throughout with cushion-shaped diamonds, with larger stones in clusters at intervals, the mount hinged and sprung, mounted in platinum, ca. 1922, in a contemporary red Morocco case
Signed Cartier, Paris Londres
New York, numbered
With a certificate of authenticity by Cartier
ESTIMATE CHF 300,000 - 400,000
$ 200,000 - 300,000
The origins of the kokoshnik style can be traced back to antiquity. Scythian artefacts dating to between the 8th and 3rd centuries BC have been unearthed in Southern Russia depicting female figures wearing the heavy headdress decorated with foliate motifs. This design was later incorporated in Russian folk costume in the
form of a modest headdress made of material that was fastened around the head with ribbons. The kokoshnik was eventually adopted by the Russian court in the 16th and
17th centuries where it was reproduced in precious metals and gem stones. It came to be embraced by the Imperial Family, who according to Geoffrey Munn in his book Tiaras, A History of Splendour, "..adopted it as a means of strengthening
the nationalistic Pan Slavic movement." This style remained popular in Russian court fashion from the nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries when it also became highly fashionable in Western Europe.
It was in 1900 that Cartier first used this motif in his designs. Its Russian origins were still so strongly felt that entries for these tiaras in the archives in Paris were listed under the terms "kokoshnik," "tiare russe," or "in the Russian style." Often heavy and overbearing in form, Cartier's interpretation of the kokoshnik sought to soften the shape resulting in a tiara that not only complemented the wearer, but was also more comfortable to wear. This was achieved by Cartier's innovative use of platinum. As a result of being stronger than both gold and silver, platinum could be worked into much thinner proportions, lending a certain lightness to the jewels. The magnificent tiara offered here is constructed in open back platinum. This method of manufacture was first used by Cartier in 1900, and became one of Cartier's hallmarks for diamond jewellery made in the early twentieth century. Each of the hinged elements in the tiara is fitted with a raised platinum frame that elevates the piece above the body allowing light to pass through the stones. The marriage of platinum and diamonds emphasizes the brilliance and scintillation of the stones, while the flexibility and lightness of the design gently moulds to the wearers head creating an ethereal halo - like effect.
This tiara, circa 1922, is believed to have been commissioned by a member of an aristocratic family and is mentioned in Diana Scarisbrick's Ancestral Jewels (plate 255).
Notes
- Cologni, Franco & Ettore Mocchetti; Made By Cartier, Abbeville Press Publishers.
- Cologni, Franco & Eric Nussbaum; Platinum By Cartier, Triumphs of the Jewellers Art, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, 1995.
- Munn, Geoffrey; Tiaras: A History of Splendour, Antique Collectors Club Ltd., 2001.
- Nadelhoffer, Hans; Cartier, Jewelers Extraordinary, Thames and Hudson, 1984.
- Rudoe, Judy; Cartier, 1900-1939, Harry N. Abrams, 1997.
- Scarisbrick, Diana; Ancestral Jewels, Andre Deutch Limited, London, 1989.
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