Rare Patinated and Matte Gilt Bronze Mantel Clock in the form of a Portico

Dial signed “Deverberie et Cgnie” by bronze-caster Jean-Simon Deverberie
Paris, Directory-Consulate period, circa 1800
The round white enamel dial, signed “Deverberie et Cgnie/INVnit Ft à Paris”, indicates the Roman numeral hours and the Arabic numeral fifteen-minute intervals by means of two pierced gilt bronze hands. The hour and half-hour striking movement is housed in an architectural case made entirely of finely chased bronze that is patinated and matte gilt. The bezel is adorned with friezes of palmettes and beads and is surmounted by the head of a sleeping lion with laurel branches in its mouth. At the top of the clock a protruding cornice that is adorned with a leaf frieze and is further decorated by modillon brackets and scrolls with stylized palmettes, surmounts a low-relief panel depicting playful putti. It is supported by pilasters that are open in back and are adorned on the façade with obelisks embellished with torch holders decorated with foliage and seeds, supported by two female figures and terminating in a dancing putto holding a bow and a flaming torch. The bases of the pilasters feature reserves containing gardening trophies. The sides of the clock have reserves adorned with rosettes, scrolls, and florets. The quadrangular molded base is adorned with a leaf frieze and stands on four animal paw feet.
The remarkable design of this rare mantel clock represents a brilliant variation on the portico style. It was created by Jean-Simon Deverberie, one of the most talented Parisian bronze casters of his time, who became famous for his clock models featuring Nubians. These were known as “au bon sauvage” clocks. The present model was created by the bronze caster, who, desiring to protect the design, registered it at the Bibliothèque Nationale by means of an original drawing, number 34, which was included in an album of designs by the Maison Deverberie.
It is today in the Institut National d’Histoire de l’Art, formerly the Bibliothèque Jacques Doucet (see C. Vignon, “Deverberie & Cie : Drawings, Models and Works in Bronze” in Cleveland Studies in the History of Art, Volume 8, 2003, p. 170-187). Among the small number of identical clocks known today, one example, signed “ Deverberie ”, whose springs are signed and dated: “Monginot 1799”, was acquired for the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. Today it is in the Royal Dutch Collection (illustrated in Royal Clocks in Paleis Het Loo, A Catalogue, 2003, p. 36).
Jean-Simon Deverberie (1764 - 1824)
Jean-Simon Deverberie was one of the most important Parisian bronziers of the late 18th century and the early decades of the following century. Deverberie, who was married to Marie-Louise Veron, appears to have specialized at first in making clocks and candelabra that were adorned with exotic figures, and particularly African figures. Around 1800 he registered several preparatory designs for “au nègre” clocks, including the “Africa”, “America”, and “Indian Man and Woman” models (the drawings for which are today preserved in the Cabinet des Estampes in the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris). He opened a workshop in the rue Barbette around 1800, in the rue du Temple around 1804, and in the rue des Fossés du Temple between 1812 and 1820.