French 18ct Yellow Gold Fringe Necklace

Director’s Notes

Louis Wièse took over the running of his father Jules’ workshop in 1880 and sought to continue the exemplary reputation for fine craftsmanship that his father had earned over the previous forty years. Louis continued working in the same tradition, producing beautifully crafted goldwork (sometimes to his father’s designs) which explored the familiar themes of the Neo-Renaissance and Gothic imagination whilst also looking to religion and archaeology to inspire him. His work was highly sculptural, often featuring figures which could be human or mythological in nature. He frequently employed grotesque beasts and gargoyles, ecclesiastic detailing and historic influences. If gems were used he would typically set them using antique-inspired methods and he was also known to use mercury oxide to distress the surface of metal, further enhancing the ‘aged’ appearance of his jewels. Enamelling was used to introduce colour and add another dimension to his pieces which are still highly regarded today and collected by a discerning group of individuals as well as contemporary goldsmiths. Examples of his jewellery can be found in major museums worldwide such as the British Museum and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. The motifs in this necklace, the snake and the phallus were both used as fertility symbols in classical antiquity, the phallus was also a symbol of good fortune and the snake, particularly the ouroboros, represented life, rebirth and infinity. Wièse has cleverly used a gold alloy with a reddish patina for this piece (as he did with others) to give the impression of an ancient jewel that has been in the earth for many hundreds of years.