ART DECO EGYPTIAN REVIVAL RING WITH A CARVED BURMESE RUBY

Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign and the subsequent wave of 19th-century archaeological discoveries ignited a lasting fascination with the ancient world, one that reached a cultural crescendo in 1922 with Howard Carter’s excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb. The aesthetic influence of Egyptomania rippled through art, fashion, and jewelry design, and at Cartier, Louis Cartier immersed himself in Owen Jones’s The Grammar of Ornament and studied antiquities to translate ancient motifs into modern creations. This ring exemplifies that dialogue between past and present: a Burmese ruby, collet-set and carved with a pharaonic profile, forms the centerpiece, framed by triangular emeralds and sapphires arranged in bold geometry. Black enamel punctuates the gold mount, lending graphic intensity to the composition. At once ornamental and talismanic, the piece embodies Cartier’s ability to channel the mystique of antiquity through the lens of contemporary design.