Cadre en or et pierres précieuses, A jewelled gold frame

maker's mark of Jules Wièse, Paris, further struck: Wièse Paris, circa 1865, the later strut with maker's mark AA in a horizontal lozenge, a cat's head between



of elaborate cartouche form, the rectangular aperture framed with diamonds and surmounted with the initials AP on a lapis lazuli plaque below a heraldic lion and the motto: Toujours Tout Droit  held by angels, the rich scrollwork incorporating caryatids, dragons and a grotesque mask , set with rubies, diamonds and sapphires

Excellent condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Jules Wièse was born Julius Wièse in Berlin in 1818 and apprenticed to court goldsmith Johann Georg Hossauer before migrating to Paris sometime before 1839.  That year he began a long collaboration with François-Désiré Froment-Meurice, becoming chef d'atelier and later partner.  He established his own extensive workshop in 1844 at 7, rue Jean Pain-Mollet, but continued to produce works exclusively for Froment Meurice, whose death in 1855 prompted Wièse's return as head of his former employer's workshop.  He nevertheless began exhibiting works under his own name that year, winning a Class 1 medal at the Paris Exposition Universelle and praise from the judges as being 'among the most prominent and meritorious fabricants of France'.  He moved to 48, rue de l'Arbre Sec in 1858 and later to 90, rue Richelieu.  His mark, JW a star above and below in a vertical lozenge, was first registered in 1858 and used until his death in 1890.

The Art Journal of 1862 illustrates an elaborate double frame shown at the International Exhibition in London and notes, 'M. Wièse is at once the artist, the artisan, and the merchant; himself superintending all the issues of his establishment in the Rue de L'Arbre Sec, and sending forth nothing that bears not the stamp of his cultivated mind.' 

It is tempting to assign the monogram AP to the great soprano Adelina Patti (1843-1919), who was a patron of Wièse.  In 1868, she commissioned a grand silver-gilt mirror mounted with enamel plaques (see Sotheby's Paris, 10 June 2004, lot 167, sold with a matching gold demi-parure, unmarked) and, in 1871, a triptych mirror (see Sotheby's New York, 19 October 1999, lot 86), both of which are surmounted with her jewelled monogram AC, as marquise de Caux.  It is possible the AP of the present lot is the monogram she used before her marriage to the marquis in 1868, although she is not known to have used the lion crest or the motto, Toujours Tout Doit.  It does seem that she was not a purist about heraldic details; the surmount of the 1868 mirror incorporates the motto, Qui Measure Dure, while the 1871 motto reads, Je Suis Ma Voie.