Cartier Sterling Silver Polo Trophy Four Photo Frame - 1928

An exceptional and deeply personal piece of Cartier history, this sterling silver four-panel folding photograph frame was presented in connection with the 1928 Central Circuit Polo Championship, won by Chagrin Valley Hunt "HC" Club. Far more than a traditional trophy, Cartier transformed the commemoration into an intimate object intended to be lived with: four hinged sterling silver frames containing period family photographs and folding neatly into their original fitted Cartier presentation case.

The reverse is engraved "Central Circuit Polo Championship 1928" alongside the winning Chagrin Valley H.C. roster: J.A. Wigmore, D.S. Ingalls, Wesley J. White and T.H. White. The surviving photographs give the object an unusual personal dimension, turning what might otherwise be a formal sporting trophy into something closer to a family time capsule. The frames are marked "Cartier Sterling," associating the piece with Cartier's American New York operation during one of the maison's most important periods of Art Deco production.

Its construction is equally compelling. Four individually hinged sterling panels articulate into a freestanding screen when opened and fold nearly flat for storage. The geometric simplicity of the silverwork is quintessentially Art Deco, with the absence of unnecessary ornament allowing the photographs, proportions and craftsmanship to carry the design.

Perhaps most importantly, the piece remains accompanied by its original fitted Cartier box, its interior bearing the Cartier stamp. Together, the frame, engraving, photographs and presentation case create an unusually complete object with intersections across several collecting categories: Cartier, American polo, early 20th-century sporting history, silver and the decorative arts.