Let the art rule the head

Despite being a world leader in everything from jewellery to fashion and music, the UK is failing to nurture creativity at school and in regional centres. Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A Museum, calls for an urgent review

- Tristram Hunt

THE Manchester Tiara is among the most sublime achievements of the House of Cartier. Made in Paris, in 1903, to the order of Consuelo, Dowager Duchess of Manchester, this triumph of graduated flaming hearts and C scrollsmade up of more than 1,000 brilliant-cut and 400-plus rose-cut diamonds-was inspired by a vision of pre-revolutionary France. Louis Cartier had encouraged his designers to sketch 18th-century ironwork and architectural ornamentation in Paris to create a true work of art for the most beautiful and celebrated 'dollar princess' of the Edwardian era.

The tiara sits alongside numerous other treasures to be put on show this spring in the V&A Museum's new blockbuster exhibition, 'Cartier. At the heart of the French maison's story lies an unwavering commitment to artistry and craftsmanship, which is why, for us, this exhibition is about much more than a celebration of bling-although the bling is fairly breathtaking. Instead, the programme speaks to the V&A's cardinal missions to encourage the take up of art and design among schoolchildren and students. For we are at a truly critical point in our national education system, where the provision of creative learning and the nurturing of craft skill is in need of urgent attention.