In 1862, the goldsmith and jeweller Jules Wièse, born in 1818 in Berlin and formerly a pupil of the German court goldsmith Johann George Hossauer, was awarded a Medal of Honour by the International Jury of the Exhibition in London for his precious metal works. Contemporary illustrations of the exhibited objects include a casket identical to the one in this lot. Wièse, who today is considered as one of the most talented silver and goldsmiths of the 19th century, had become chef d'atelier of the renowned Parisian goldsmith Froment-Meurice as early as 1839. Five years later, he registered his own maker's mark and in 1855, he exhibited under his own name for the first time at the Paris Exhibition. In his artworks, Wièse often combined different historical and stylistic influences and created sought-after jewellery and objets d'art in the neo-gothic, neo-renaissance or the romanesque styles, as was the case for this casket. In Masterpieces of Industrial Art and Sculpture at the International Exhibition 1862, London, 1863, plate 100, J. B. Waring mentioned that the casket was based on an 'ancient model'. This could refer to an inspiration drawn from Italian ivory caskets such as the 11^th or 12^th century Morgan casket in the MET in New York (17.190.241). Wièse's artworks are also often characterised by an oxidation of the surface in order to obtain a darker, pseudo-tarnished surface associated with old age.