Design 17/20: Silver, Furniture & Ceramics
Design 17/20: Silver, Furniture & Ceramics
A French Parcel-Gilt Silver, Jewel, and Enamel Vesta Box, Jules Wièse for François-Désiré Froment-Meurice, Paris, Circa 1848
Lot Closed
April 5, 05:16 PM GMT
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
A French Parcel-Gilt Silver, Jewel, and Enamel Vesta Box, Jules Wièse for François-Désiré Froment-Meurice, Paris, Circa 1848
upright, rectangular with cut corners, each side with oval medallions chased with incendiary allusions: the chariot of Hyperion and a Vestal Virgin, set with variously-shaped pink gems, on a black enamel ground, the spring-loaded lid surmounted by a putto on a globe with the signs of the Zodiac, opening to reveal four silver-gilt compartments, with scroll handles, on four silver-gilt dragon supports, marked throughout
10 oz 18 dwt gross
336 g
height 4 7/8 in.
12.5 cm
Jules Wièse (1818-1910), originally a pupil of the goldsmith Hossauer in Berlin, migrated to Paris where he became a workman of Jean-Valentin Morel and then joined the celebrated Parisian goldsmith François-Désiré Froment-Meurice (1802- 1855) as a chef d'atelier and later a partner. It appears that Wièse set up his own establishment with twenty-five workmen in 1844 but still worked exclusively for his former employer and ran the workshop in 1855 after the death of the latter.
Froment-Meurice was qualified as the ‘Cellini of his age’ by Victor Hugo, and rapidly developed a most influential worldwide clientele, including the Shah of Iran, the Pope, the Tsar of Russia, the Bonaparte family, the Royal Orleans family and Queen Victoria. In 1848, the Queen acquired directly from Froment-Meurice a nearly identical match holder to the present example, but with turquoise blue enamel, for the 29th birthday of Prince Albert. It is now the Royal Collections, RCIN 4114. An identical example to the one purchased by Queen Victoria was sold Sotheby's London, November 1, 2017, lot 830.