On 21 October 2026, Sotheby’s in New York will auction an extraordinary French picture frame dating from the reign of Louis XIV, made around 1700. The richly carved and gilded frame measures 117 × 122 cm, with a depth of 16.5 cm. Its estimate of USD 150,000–250,000 is a remarkable sum for a picture frame.
Its elaborate carving presents a complex mythological programme featuring Apollo, Medusa, military trophies and figures of ancient warriors. Presumably originally made for a painting, the frame now contains a mirror plate inserted at a later date.
French Louis XIV frame, carved and gilded wood, circa 1700.
Of particular interest, however, is the reverse. It bears a partially preserved historical exhibition label:
EXPOSITION INTERNATIONALE DU CADRE DU XVe AU XXe SIÈCLE – AVRIL 1931 – N° 137 – GALERIE GEORGES PETIT, PARIS
The label documents the frame’s participation in a remarkable exhibition held at the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris in 1931.
Its construction also deserves attention. The dovetailed corner splines visible on the reverse are a characteristic French method of joining and reinforcing the corners. They secure the mitred joints while providing an insight into the craftsmanship involved in making such elaborately carved frames.
Reverse of the frame, showing historical labels and the dovetailed corner splines characteristic of French frame construction.
Detail of the exhibition label from the Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, April 1931.
The exhibition was organised by the art dealer Étienne Bignou together with the decorator and frame collector Serge Roche (1898–1988). Devoted entirely to the history of the picture frame, it presented examples of European frame-making from the 15th to the 20th century.
In the same year, Roche published his large-format volume Cadres français et étrangers du XVe au XVIIIe siècle. The frame now offered at Sotheby’s is illustrated on plate 13. At the time, it belonged to Baroness Marie-Cécile Fould-Springer.
Even more remarkable is a historical photograph taken by Thérèse Bonney on 29 April 1931. It shows an exhibition room at the Galerie Georges Petit filled with historical picture frames.
And there it is: our frame, clearly visible above an upholstered settee!
The photograph thus documents not only the frame’s presence in the exhibition but also how it was displayed at the time.
View of the picture frame exhibition at the Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 29 April 1931. The frame now offered at Sotheby’s is clearly visible above a light-coloured upholstered settee.
The British frame historian Lynn Roberts, in collaboration with Andrew Levi, examined this frame in considerable detail in a 2020 article on her outstanding The Frame Blog. Their study focuses particularly on its extraordinary iconographic programme and its possible connections to Greek mythology and the Persian Wars.
In her 2024 article Histories of the frame, Roberts explores the history of frame scholarship, reproducing both the historical exhibition photograph from 1931 and the illustration from Roche’s publication.
These meticulously researched and highly informative studies are strongly recommended.
The exhibition of 1931 was far ahead of its time. Picture frames were presented not merely as accessories to paintings but recognised as independent works of art in their own right.
Ninety-five years later, one of these frames is once again being offered as a work of art in its own right – with an estimate that would not be unusual for a significant painting.
Yet it is striking how far the appreciation of historical picture frames as independent works of art remains from being taken for granted.
The front reveals the carver’s artistry. The reverse preserves its history.
Sources and Further Reading
Sotheby’s, New York, 21 October 2026, Magnum Opus | Evening Auction, Lot 60.
View auction catalogue
Serge Roche, Cadres français et étrangers du XVe au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1931, plate 13.
Lynn Roberts, in collaboration with Andrew Levi, Serge Roche: Cadres français et étrangers du XVe siècle au XVIIIe siècle – Part 1, The Frame Blog, 22 September 2020.
Read article
Lynn Roberts, Histories of the frame, The Frame Blog, 29 September 2024.
Read article
Thérèse Bonney, French picture frames. Gallery view, Paris, 29 April 1931. Smithsonian Institution, image no. SIL-SIL-Bonney-MIR008-A.
View historical photograph
Image Credits
Figs. 1–3: Sotheby’s, New York.
Fig. 4: Thérèse Bonney, Smithsonian Institution, Cooper Hewitt Design Library.