Rome – From November 14, 2025, to March 15, 2026, the Capitoline Museums’ Palazzo Nuovo will host a temporary exhibition for the very first time, with "Cartier & Myths at the Capitoline Museums." The creations of the Maison Cartier, mostly from the heritage Cartier Collection, will be in dialogue with the marble sculptures from the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Albani – the original core of the Palazzo Nuovo museum’s collection – and with a selection of precious ancient artifacts from the Capitoline Superintendency, as well as prestigious Italian and international institutions and private collections.

The exhibition, curated by Jewellery historian Bianca Cappello, Archeologist Ste phane Verger and Capitoline Superintendent Claudio Parisi Presicce, and promoted by Roma Capitale, the Department of Culture, the Capitoline Superintendency for Cultural Heritage, is organized in collaboration with Maison Cartier and with the support of Ze tema Progetto Cultura. The exhibition design is by Sylvain Roca, with an extraordinary creative contribution by Master Dante Ferretti.

From the mid-19th century to the present day, Cartier has studied, drawn inspiration from, and reinterpreted the aesthetic and symbolic repertoire of ancient Greece and Rome, transforming millennia-old motifs into jewels with a unique and modern character. “Cartier and Myths at the Capitoline Museums” is a fascinating journey to discover the aesthetic and formal universe of the Maison Cartier, in continuous dialogue with the exceptional collection of ancient sculptures of the Capitoline Museums. The exhibition explores how classical antiquity has constantly inspired its most iconic creations, reconstructing intellectual and cultural atmospheres and evoking the evolution of the imagery linked to Greece and Rome during the 19th and 20th centuries. A particular focus is placed on the profound connection between Cartier and Italy, especially Rome.

The permanent collections of the Palazzo Nuovo in Campidoglio – the original Capitoline Museum established in December 1733 by Clemente XII Corsini – consist almost exclusively of marble sculptures, largely acquired from the collection of Cardinal Alessandro Albani. Many of these ancient sculptures have been essential models for the formation of the European artistic language. The exhibition offers an original perspective on a particular and important aspect of this theme: the use of the ancient repertoire in jewellery, from the "pastiches" of the 19th century’s great collectors and goldsmiths, like the Castellani in Rome, to the Neoclassical Garland style, up to the subsequent works inspired by Jean Cocteau in the post-war period, finally arriving at today's creations and a new approach to Antiquity.

The exhibition highlights the use of the classical Greco-Roman repertoire in Cartier's creations and the transformations of the first half of the twentieth century, when a new conception of classical antiquity matured. A section is dedicated to the techniques and processes of jewelry making, with references to the Roman age. The exhibition also explores the mythological inspirations that have nourished Cartier's imagery since the beginning of the 20th century, comparing the creations of the Maison with the ancient deities of Palazzo Nuovo – Aphrodite and Dionysus, Apollo and Heracles, Zeus and Demeter – and inviting visitors to rediscover the ancient models that inspired them within the permanent collection.

The exhibition, conceived as an immersive experience enriched by audiovisual elements, is characterized by the olfactory displays created by the Maison Cartier’s perfumer, Mathilde Laurent, and by the exhibition of hard stones from Cartier’s glyptics workshop which embody the deities and myths on display.

Pendant, Cartier London, 1920, platinum, diamonds, sapphires, rock crystal, moonstone, onyx. Photo Vincent Wulveryck, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Mosaic of the Doves from Villa Adriani, Tivoli (1737), end of the 1st century BC. Mosaic. Musei Capitolini, Palazzo Nuovo, Rome, Inv. S 402 © Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

Tiara, Cartier Paris, special order, 1907 Platinum, diamonds, natural pearls Made for the wedding of Marie Bonaparte to Prince George of Greece and Denmark in 1907. Provenance: Princess Marie Bonaparte (1882–1962). Cartier Collection. Photo Nils Herrmann, Cartier Collection © Cartier

Livia as Ceres, 14-37 AD. Marble. Musei Capitolini, Palazzo Nuovo, Rome - Inv. S 44 © Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

Stomacher brooch, Cartier Paris, special order, 1907. Platinum, diamonds, sapphires, Cartier Collection. Photo Vincent Wulveryck, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Bell krater, Early 1st century AD. Marble. Rome, Capitoline Museums, Palazzo Nuovo - Inv. S 275 © Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

Necklace, Cartier Paris, special order, 1911. Platinum, diamonds , natural pearls, Cartier Collection. Photo Nils Herrmann, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Capitoline Venus, mid 2nd century AD. Marble. Musei Capitolini, Palazzo Nuovo, Rome, Inv. S 409 © Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

"Golden Fleece" pendant with chain necklace, Cartier Paris, 1970. Yellow gold, pink gold, diamond, Private Collection. Photo Private collection, studio Gérard © Cartier

Young Dyonisos, Imperial period. Marble, Capitoline Museums, Palazzo Nuovo, Rome, Inv. S 268 © Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

Cartier Paris, Medusa’s Head Pendant, 1906; platinum, gold, diamonds, natural pearls, “angel skin” coral, enamel. Cartier Collection. Photo Nils Herrmann, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Medusa (1644-1648 ; marble ; Rome, Musei Capitolini, Palazzo dei Conservatori - Inv. S 1166 © Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

Cartier Paris, Egyptian Necklace,1927-1928 Platinum, gold, blue Egyptian faience, diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, carnelian, turquoise, onyx. Cartier Collection. Photo Nils Herrmann, Collection Cartier © Cartier.

Isis, 2nd century AD. Marble. Musei Capitolini, Palazzo Nuovo, Rome. Inv. S 744 © Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

Brooch-pendant, Cartier Paris, special order, 1922. Platinum, diamonds, coral, onyx. Cartier Collection. Photo Vincent Wulveryck, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Herakles fights the Nemean lion in the presence of Athena, Black figures attic amphora attributed to Conservatori class, 550-500 BC. Terracotta. Roma, Musei Capitolini, Collezione Augusto Castellani. Inv. CA 74 © Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali

Tiara, Cartier Paris, 1909. Platinum, diamonds, natural pearls. Cartier Collection. Photo Marian Gérard, Collection Cartier © Cartier

Birth of Venus Pendant, Probably France, circa 1880. Pearl, Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Diamond, Agate. L77mm W44mm © Albion Art Jewellery Institute

Hellenistic Gold Tiara, Greece, circa 330 ~ 300 B.C. Gold. L200mm W250mm H40mm © Albion Art Jewellery Institute

Hellenistic Cupid as Grape Harvester Ring, Greece, circa 4th-3rd Century B.C. Gold. L18mm W20mm H20mm © Albion Art Jewellery Institute

Castellani, Moleo Necklace, Italy, circa 1872. Gold. L385mm W54mm © Albion Art Jewellery Institute