Two objects from The Al Thani Collection are on loan at the exhibition Cartier, Islamic Inspiration and Modern Design which opens today (16 November) at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The exhibition showcases the influences of the Islamic arts on Cartier's designs, from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day, and features over 400 works including jewellery and precious objects, masterpieces of Islamic art, drawings, textiles and photographs.

The loans from The Al Thani Collection include The Tiger’s Eye Turban Ornament, a magnificent jewel made by Cartier in 1937 for Maharaja Digvijaysinhji of Nawanagar using an exceptional 61.5 carat golden hue diamond which had been discovered in 1913 and sold by the French jeweller to his predecessor, Maharaja Ranjitsinhji of Nawanagar. The use of baguette-cut diamonds transformed the traditional Indian shape into a masterpiece of Art Deco design, and the turban ornament was designed for multiple purposes: the upper section can be detached transforming the piece into a brooch.

The other loan is a manuscript of Timurid poetry which was previously in the ownership of Louis Cartier in the early 20th century. The volume was copied by Sultan Ali al-Mashhadi, the greatest Timurid calligrapher of the late 15th century, who was working at Herat under the patronage of the ruler Sultan Husayn Mirza Bayqara and his foster brother, Ali Shir Nava’i. Its illumination is in the Ottoman court style of the mid-16th century, specifically that of the pre-eminent Ottoman royal illuminator Karamemi.

The exhibition is on view until 24 March 2024. It is co-curated by Évelyne Possémé, Former Chief Curator of Ancient and Modern Jewellery at the musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris, and Judith Henon-Raynaud, Chief Curator and Deputy Director of the Department of Islamic Art at the musée du Louvre, Paris.

More details can be found here.