Gold ring with D-section hoop, plain on the interior, ornate on the exterior in form of a fluted column widening towards the shoulders with ornate C-scroll ends. Applied on the shoulders are two sculptural female caryatide half figures, draped, and emerging from a cartouche. These flank and seemingly support the high bezel with elaborate octagonal box setting, ribbed base, protruding notched edging and tapering cusped setting with open set diamond. The bezel has a platinum lining, intended to enhance the whiteness of the diamond. The ring shows signs of wear through age and is in excellent wearable condition.  

Below on the exterior of the hoop is the maker’s mark “WIESE” (used by Louis Wièse from 1890 to 1925) and on the right his lozenge-shaped maker’s mark. To the left the eagle’s head (French guarantee mark for 18 carat gold for goods made in France).

Literature: 

In 1880 in Louis Wièse (1852-1923) took over the family business from his father, Jules Wièse (1818-1890). Jules began his career in Berlin and by 1844 opened an atelier in Paris and

became a hugely successful and highly regarded gold- and silversmith. Louis decided to continue making pieces in the Archaeological, Gothic and Renaissance Revivalist styles which had been fashionable and for which the Wièse workshop had become renowned, even though during the Belle Epoque period, new styles, like Louis-Seize and Art Nouveau were evolving. However, he recognized jewelry harking back to historical styles were favored by the customers loyal to the family firm and the business flourished. Despite Louis following in his father’s footsteps, he developed a unique style of his own.

His contemporary, the renowned jeweler and collector Henri Vever praised Louis in his pioneering book on French nineteenth century jewelry: ‘An exceptionally modest and truly talented artist, he continues to make the sort of jewelry on which his father’s reputation was founded’ (Henri Vever (translated by Katherine Purcell), French Jewelry of the Nineteenth Century, London 2001, p. 681).

Louis Wièse was renowned for his gold jewelry, exquisite technique of chasing and excellent craftsmanship, as seen here in this Renaissance Revival ring with fine details in high sculptural relief. The design follows the spirit of the French Renaissance with its ornamental detail, scrollwork, caryatide figures and distinctive bezel. The inspiration was drawn from prints and drawings published by artists of the sixteenth century, such as Daniel Mignot (active 1593-96) or Virgil Solis (1514-1562), to name but a few. At the time of Wièse reprints of these books were readily available for goldsmiths to study.    

Jewelry by Louis Wièse in a variety of revivalist styles such as Archaeological, Medieval or Renaissance can be found in major museum collections, for example in the British Museum and Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Museum für Angewandte Kunst MAK, Cologne and

Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, cf. exh. cat. Pariser Schmuck. Vom Zweiten Kaiserreich zur Belle Epoque, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich 1989, pp. 94-109 and for a Renaissance Revival ring in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, no. 27.  

The Renaissance Revival ring in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, has a small and plain table-cut diamond, unlike the high quality and sumptuous old European cut diamond in this ring with an estimated weight of 1.72 carats.  Similar in design with putti instead of caryatide figures is a diamond ring by Louis Wièse at the DIVA Museum for Diamonds, Jewellery and Silver, Antwerp, which is on loan from ADIN Fine Vintage & Antique Jewellery, Anwerp.

For detailed information on the Wièse workshop, see: Silke Hellmuth, Jules Wièse und sein Atelier. Goldschmiedekunst des 19. Jahrhunderts in Paris, Berlin, 2014.

R-1178