Rare Gilt and Silvered Bronze and Hematite Mantel Clock “The Peaceful Lion”
“Brille à Paris”
The Case Attributed to François Vion
Paris, Transition period Louis XV-Louis XVI, circa 1770
The enamel dial, signed “Brille à Paris”, indicates the Roman numeral hours and the Arabic numeral five-minute intervals by means of two pierced hands. The hour and half-hour striking movement is housed in a finely chased gilt and silvered bronze case that is lavishly adorned with faceted hematites. The clock is surmounted by a classical urn with Greek-style handles through which a laurel garland is threaded; the urn has a seed finial emerging from a leafy bouquet. The drum case, which is adorned with a bow and a laurel swag, is supported on the back of a magnificent lion with “ruby” eyes, which is depicted in a tranquil pose with its tail curving downward and a finely chased mane. It looks toward the viewer and stands on a checkerboard-patterned terrace that is centered by a medallion with radiating leaves. The terrace forms the top of the architectural base, which is quadrangular in shape, with protruding corners decorated with triple fluting and triglyphs. It features a plain convex groove and is adorned with interlace friezes centered by pearls and laurel garlands. The clock stands on four flattened ball feet.
Animal-themed clocks truly appeared during the reign of Louis XV and grew to be quite popular during the second half of the 18th century, when neoclassicism became the dominant style in the French decorative arts, particularly in Paris. The present clock stands out due to its remarkable composition, the quality of its chasing and gilding/silvering, as well as for its hematite decoration, and lastly due to our knowledge of the existence of a commercial or preparatory sketch done before the piece went into production. That drawing is today in the Institut national d’Histoire de l’Art in Paris (drawing number 22, part of an album of bronzier François Vion). This allows us to confidently attribute the model to Vion (see H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Die Bronzearbeiten des Spätbarock und Klassizismus, Munich, 1986, Band I, p. 193, fig. 3.11.6).
As of the 18th century, a few rare examples of this model are mentioned as belonging to important Parisian collectors of the time, as for example “…a clock with an enamel dial displaying the hours and minutes, with striking, in a gilt and colored copper case that is adorned with marcasites, mounted on a lion with a base of gilt and silvered copper…” that was described in the late 18th century as being in the home of one of the members of the Giambone family. A “clock made by Gille, in Paris; the case in the form of a drum, borne by a lion: the whole in very well gilt bronze; the dial’s bezel decorated with marcasites, and a small vase surmounting the clock; the striking movement, 8-day going” was offered at the sale of Duke Charles de Lorraine in May 1781. Lastly, in the late 19th century a “small clock from the time of Louis XVI, in gilt bronze and green patinated bronze, with movement visible through a glass dial, bearing the name of Lepaute, in Paris. The dial, whose hands and bezel are embellished with marcasites, is fitted in a drum case surmounted by a cassolette and supported by a green patinated bronze lion that is facing left. The lion stands on a rectangular gilt bronze base with protruding corners adorned with triglyphs. The base is decorated with Greek keys and laurel garlands in green patinated bronze. Height 31 cm; width 18 cm” is described in the collection of the Count d’Armaillé.
Today, among the small number of known identical clocks, which sometimes feature minor variations in their decoration, there are three models made entirely of gilt bronze or gilt and patinated bronze. One, which was probably in the collection of the Prince de Condé in the 18th century, is today in the Mobilier national (see Fastes du pouvoir: objets d’exception XVIIIe-XIXe siècles, RMN, Paris, 2007, p. 18-19, catalogue n° 5). A second example is illustrated in G. and A. Wannenes, Les plus belles pendules françaises de Louis XIV à l’Empire, Florence, éditions Polistampa, 2013, p. 295. A third clock is illustrated in H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, op.cit., p. 193, fig. 3.11.4. Lastly, a comparable clock, which is also made of gilt and silvered bronze, is in the celebrated Pavlovsk Palace near Saint Petersburg, in Russia.
François Vion (circa 1737 - after 1790)
One of the most important Parisian bronze casters of the second half of the 18th century. Having become a master bronze caster in 1764, he was a rival of the Osmonds and Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain. He specialized in creating clock cases, several of which bear his signature, particularly those known as “Venus and Love” and “Love and the Three Graces”.
Rare Gilt and Silvered Bronze and Hematite Mantel Clock
“The Peaceful Lion”
The Case Attributed to François Vion
Paris, Transition period Louis XV-Louis XVI, circa 1770
The rare enamelled glass dial indicates the Roman numeral hours and the Arabic numeral five-minute intervals by means of two pierced hands. The hour and half-hour striking “Skeleton” movement is housed in a finely chased gilt and silvered bronze case that is lavishly adorned with faceted hematites. The clock is surmounted by a classical urn with Greek-style handles through which a laurel garland is threaded; the urn has a seed finial emerging from a leafy bouquet. The drum case, which is adorned with a bow and a laurel swag, is supported on the back of a magnificent lion, which is depicted in a tranquil pose with its tail curving downward and a finely chased mane. It looks toward the viewer and stands on a checkerboard-patterned terrace that is centered by a medallion with radiating leaves. The terrace forms the top of the architectural base, which is quadrangular in shape, with protruding corners decorated with triple fluting and triglyphs. It features a plain convex groove and is adorned with interlace friezes centered by pearls and laurel garlands. The clock stands on four flattened ball feet.
Animal-themed clocks truly appeared during the reign of Louis XV and grew to be quite popular during the second half of the 18th century, when neoclassicism became the dominant style in the French decorative arts, particularly in Paris. The present clock stands out due to its remarkable composition, the quality of its chasing and gilding/silvering, as well as for its hematite decoration, and lastly due to our knowledge of the existence of a commercial or preparatory sketch done before the piece went into production. That drawing is today in the Institut national d’Histoire de l’Art in Paris (drawing number 22, part of an album of bronzier François Vion). This allows us to confidently attribute the model to Vion (see H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Die Bronzearbeiten des Spätbarock und Klassizismus, Munich, 1986, Band I, p. 193, fig. 3.11.6).
As of the 18th century, a few rare examples of this model are mentioned as belonging to important Parisian collectors of the time, as for example “…a clock with an enamel dial displaying the hours and minutes, with striking, in a gilt and colored copper case that is adorned with marcasites, mounted on a lion with a base of gilt and silvered copper…” that was described in the late 18th century as being in the home of one of the members of the Giambone family. A “clock made by Gille, in Paris; the case in the form of a drum, borne by a lion: the whole in very well gilt bronze; the dial’s bezel decorated with marcasites, and a small vase surmounting the clock; the striking movement, 8-day going” was offered at the sale of Duke Charles de Lorraine in May 1781. Lastly, in the late 19th century a “small clock from the time of Louis XVI, in gilt bronze and green patinated bronze, with movement visible through a glass dial, bearing the name of Lepaute, in Paris. The dial, whose hands and bezel are embellished with marcasites, is fitted in a drum case surmounted by a cassolette and supported by a green patinated bronze lion that is facing left. The lion stands on a rectangular gilt bronze base with protruding corners adorned with triglyphs. The base is decorated with Greek keys and laurel garlands in green patinated bronze. Height 31 cm; width 18 cm” is described in the collection of the Count d’Armaillé.
Today, among the small number of known identical clocks, which sometimes feature minor variations in their decoration, there are three models made entirely of gilt bronze or gilt and patinated bronze. One, which was probably in the collection of the Prince de Condé in the 18th century, is today in the Mobilier national (see Fastes du pouvoir: objets d’exception XVIIIe-XIXe siècles, RMN, Paris, 2007, p. 18-19, catalogue n° 5). A second example is illustrated in G. and A. Wannenes, Les plus belles pendules françaises de Louis XIV à l’Empire, Florence, éditions Polistampa, 2013, p. 295. A third clock is illustrated in H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, op.cit., p. 193, fig. 3.11.4. Lastly, a comparable clock, which is also made of gilt and silvered bronze, is in the celebrated Pavlovsk Palace near Saint Petersburg, in Russia.
François Vion (circa 1737 - after 1790)
One of the most important Parisian bronze casters of the second half of the 18th century. Having become a master bronze caster in 1764, he was a rival of the Osmonds and Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain. He specialized in creating clock cases, several of which bear his signature, particularly those known as “Venus and Love” and “Love and the Three Graces”.
Important Matte Gilt Bronze Musical Mantel Clock
Case attributed to Robert Osmond
Paris, Transition period between Louis XV-Louis XVI, circa 1770-1775
Bibliography:
Tardy, La pendule française, 2ème Partie: Du Louis XVI à nos jours, Paris, 1971, p. 251, fig. 3 (illustration).
The white enamel dial, signed “J.B. Dutertre à Paris”, indicate the Roman numeral hours and the Arabic numeral five-minute intervals by means of two pierced and gilt bronze hands. The hour and half hour striking movement is housed in a Neoclassical case in the form of a finely chased matte gilt bronze vase flanked by putti. The vase, a lidded urn with applied handles, is surmounted by a pinecone finial. It is decorated with rosettes, toruses, and laurel garlands. The pedestal is adorned with spiral fluting and a ribbon-tied laurel torus. The urn stands on an architectural trellis-pierced base, and is decorated with laurel garlands, ribbons and bows, entrelac friezes, and rosettes; it is flanked by two putti, one of which is holding the bust of a young woman and a sculptor’s mallet – it is an Allegory of Sculpture – and the other, which is holding a compass and is leaning on an Ionic capital – an Allegory of Architecture. The base contains a musical movement that is activated on the hour by the horological mechanism; it plays ten melodies on a carillon of eleven bells, by means of nineteen hammers. The clock is raised upon four flattened ball feet.
Though unsigned, the case of the present clock may confidently be attributed to Robert Osmond. The model was created by Osmond in the latter part of the 1760s or the early years of the following decade. He continued to produce it, with variations, during the two next decades. Today only a few examples, some featuring variations mostly concerning the treatment of the two figures, are known. One example, whose dial is signed Berthoud, is in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (illustrated in H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Die Bronzearbeiten des Spätbarock und Klassizismus, Band I, Munich, 1986, p. 177, fig. 3.6.5). A second example is in the Musée du Louvre in Paris (illustrated in D. Alcouffe, A. Dion-Tenenbaum and G. Mabille, Les bronzes d’ameublement du Louvre, Editions Faton, Dijon, 2004, catalogue n° 60). A third clock was formerly in the Etienne Lévy collection (see P. Siguret, Lo Stile Luigi XVI, Milan, 1965, p. 122).
Robert Osmond (1711 - 1789)
French bronze-caster Robert Osmond was born in Canisy, near Saint-Lô; he began his apprenticeship in the workshop of Louis Regnard, maître fondeur en terre et en sable, and became a master bronzier in Paris in 1746. He is recorded as working in the rue des Canettes in the St. Sulpice parish, moving to the rue de Mâcon in 1761. Robert Osmond became a juré, thus gaining a certain degree of protection of his creative rights. In 1753, he sent for his nephew in Normandy, and in 1761, the workshop, which by that time had grown considerably, moved to the rue de Macon. The nephew, Jean-Baptiste Osmond (1742-after 1790) became a master in 1764 and as of that date worked closely with his uncle, to such a degree that it is difficult to differentiate between the contributions of each. Robert appears to have retired around 1775. Jean-Baptiste, who remained in charge of the workshop after the retirement of his uncle, encountered difficulties and went bankrupt in 1784. Robert Osmond died in 1789.
Prolific bronze casters and chasers, the Osmonds worked with equal success in both the Louis XV and the Neo-classical styles. Prized by connoisseurs of the period, their work was distributed by clockmakers and marchands-merciers. Although they made all types of furnishing objects, including fire dogs, wall lights and inkstands, the only extant works by them are clocks, including one depicting the Rape of Europe (Getty Museum, California) in the Louis XV style and two important Neo-classical forms, of which there are several examples, as well as a vase with lions’ heads (Musée Condé, Chantilly and the Cleveland Museum of Art) and a cartel-clock with chased ribbons (examples in the Stockholm Nationalmuseum; Paris, Nissim de Camondo Museum). A remarkable clock decorated with a globe, cupids and a Sèvres porcelain plaque (Paris, Louvre) is another of their notable works.
Specialising at first in the rocaille style, in the early 1760’s they turned to the new Neo-classical style and soon numbered among its greatest practitioners. They furnished cases to the best clockmakers of the period, such as Montjoye, for whom they made cases for cartonnier and column clocks, the column being one of the favourite motifs of the Osmond workshop.
Jean-Baptiste Dutertre (? - 1773)
Jean-Baptiste Dutertre is one of the most important Parisian horologists of the second third of the 18th century. The son of a clockmaker, he became a master in 1735. He took over the direction of his father’s workshop in the Quai des Orfèvres and immediately became quite successful. Like the best artisans of his day, Dutertre called on the best bronziers for his gilt bronze clock cases, collaborating with Jean-Baptiste Osmond, and Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain, in particular. Influential aristocrats of the time were his clients; among them, the Marquis de Marigny et de Béringhen, the duc de Penthièvre and the Duchess de Mazarin, as well as several bankers and financiers, such as Messieurs Bochart de Saron, Lepelletier de Mortefontaine and Radix de Sainte-Foix, all of whom were collectors of fine horological pieces.
A Rare Gilt Bronze Neoclassical Vase-Shaped Clock with Matte and Gilt Finishing
Movement signed by Jean-Baptiste Lepaute
Case Attributed to Robert Osmond
Paris, transition period between Louis XV and Louis XVI, circa 1770
The clock indicates the Roman numeral hours and the Arabic numeral five-minute intervals on enamel cartouches in two superimposed revolving dials that are decorated with lozenges set with quatrefoils. The neoclassical case is in the form of a gilt bronze baluster vase with matte and gilt finishing. The clock is surmounted by a pinecone finial around which a snake is coiled; the snake’s tongue is the pointer that marks the time on the revolving dials. The applied classical handles are adorned with lions’ heads with mobile rings in their mouths. The molded belly of the vase features a frieze with interlacing motifs above and a wreath of leaves below. The sloping base is decorated with a knop and a ribbon-tied laurel torus. The square plinth, where the slow/fast adjustment is located, is decorated with wide laurel garlands that are held in place by bows and are supported on a truncated column with wide, rudented fluting, one of which conceals the winding hole. The molded base is adorned with ribbon-tied reeds and laurel toruses. A square plinth with matte decoration, which bears the signature “Lepaute”, supports the clock.
Clocks in the form of classical vases came into fashion in Paris during the second half of the 18th century and immediately became popular among the important collectors of the time. The model was particularly suited to the elegant cercles tournants dials, which collectors often preferred to the traditional round dials, thought to be too “ordinary”. Today, several such clock models are known, but only very few of them are as well-balanced and elegant as the present clock. Among the comparable vase-shaped clocks known, one example in the form of a vase standing on a truncated column, made by the bronze-caster Robert Osmond and the clockmaker Lepaute in 1770, is illustrated in H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Band I, Editions Klinkhardt & Biermann, Munich, 1986, p. 194. A second clock is in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris (see P. Jullian, Le style Louis XVI, Editions Baschet et Cie, Paris, 1983, p. 121, fig .4). One further such clock is in the Musée du Petit Palais in Paris (see Tardy, La pendule française, Des origines à nos jours, 2ème partie: Du Louis XVI à nos jours, Paris, 1974, p. 289, fig. 3).
Jean-André and Jean-Baptiste Lepaute
“Lepaute Horloger du Roi à Paris“: This is the signature of the brothers Jean-André Lepaute (1720-1789) and Jean-Baptiste Lepaute (1727-1802), remarkable clockmakers born in Thonne-la-Long in Lorraine who were both horlogers du Roi (Clockmakers of the King).
Jean-André came to Paris as a young man and was joined by his brother in 1747. The Lepaute enterprise, founded informally in 1750, was formally incorporated in 1758. Jean-André, who was received as a maître by the corporation des horlogers in 1759, was lodged first in the Palais du Luxembourg and then, in 1756, in the Galeries du Louvre. Jean-André Lepaute wrote a horological treatise (Traité d’Horlogerie), published in Paris in 1755. Another volume, entitled Description de plusieurs ouvrages d’horlogerie (A Description of several horological pieces) appeared in 1764. In 1748 he married the mathematician and astronomer Nicole-Reine Etable de la Brière, who among other things predicted the return of Halley’s Comet.
Jean-Baptiste Lepaute, received maître in December 1776, was known for the equation of time clock he constructed for the Paris Hôtel de Ville (1780, destroyed in the fire of 1871) and the clock of the Hôtel des Invalides.
The two brothers worked for the French Garde-Meuble de la Couronne; their clocks were appreciated by the most important connoisseurs of the time, both in France and abroad, such as the Prince Charles de Lorraine and the Queen Louise-Ulrika of Sweden.
Jean-Baptiste took over the workshop when Jean-André retired in 1775.
Robert Osmond (1711 - 1789)
French bronze-caster Robert Osmond was born in Canisy, near Saint-Lô; he began his apprenticeship in the workshop of Louis Regnard, maître fondeur en terre et en sable, and became a master bronzier in Paris in 1746. He is recorded as working in the rue des Canettes in the St. Sulpice parish, moving to the rue de Mâcon in 1761. Robert Osmond became a juré, thus gaining a certain degree of protection of his creative rights. In 1753, he sent for his nephew in Normandy, and in 1761, the workshop, which by that time had grown considerably, moved to the rue de Macon. The nephew, Jean-Baptiste Osmond (1742-after 1790) became a master in 1764 and as of that date worked closely with his uncle, to such a degree that it is difficult to differentiate between the contributions of each. Robert appears to have retired around 1775. Jean-Baptiste, who remained in charge of the workshop after the retirement of his uncle, encountered difficulties and went bankrupt in 1784. Robert Osmond died in 1789.
Prolific bronze casters and chasers, the Osmonds worked with equal success in both the Louis XV and the Neo-classical styles. Prized by connoisseurs of the period, their work was distributed by clockmakers and marchands-merciers. Although they made all types of furnishing objects, including fire dogs, wall lights and inkstands, the only extant works by them are clocks, including one depicting the Rape of Europe (Getty Museum, California) in the Louis XV style and two important Neo-classical forms, of which there are several examples, as well as a vase with lions’ heads (Musée Condé, Chantilly and the Cleveland Museum of Art) and a cartel-clock with chased ribbons (examples in the Stockholm Nationalmuseum; Paris, Nissim de Camondo Museum). A remarkable clock decorated with a globe, cupids and a Sèvres porcelain plaque (Paris, Louvre) is another of their notable works.
Specialising at first in the rocaille style, in the early 1760’s they turned to the new Neo-classical style and soon numbered among its greatest practitioners. They furnished cases to the best clockmakers of the period, such as Montjoye, for whom they made cases for cartonnier and column clocks, the column being one of the favourite motifs of the Osmond workshop.
Important Pair of Large Silver Neoclassical Candlesticks
“Fermiers généraux” punchmark: crowned “A” and “E” (1768/1774), large and medium guaranty (1768-1774)/Master goldsmith “L.L.” column on the stem bases, nozzles, and drip pans
Paris, Transition period between Louis XV-Louis XVI, circa 1768-1774
Made entirely of finely chased silver, each candlestick has a baluster stem with three concave sides. Their lower portions are adorned with acanthus leaves; the upper portions are decorated with delicate laurel swags suspended from stylized motifs on their upper shoulders. The stems terminate in nozzles in the form of vases that are adorned with fluted bands on a matted ground, a base in the form of a waterleaf bouquet, with the shaped and molded drip pans decorated with leaves, resting on plain molded knops. The shaped circular feet are embellished with concave molding adorned with leaves and stylized motifs surmounting the stem base adorned with fluting, against a matted ground.
The present rare pair of large candlesticks is remarkable for their fine, symmetrical chasing, characteristic of the finest work of Parisian artisans during the final years of the reign of Louis XVI. During this period, which today we call “Transition between the Louis XV-Louis XVI periods”, neoclassicism was favored. Another pair of candlesticks dated 1771-1772, with a bouquet of light arms, which was formerly in the David-Weill collection (illustrated in G. Henriot, Le luminaire de la Renaissance au XIXe siècle, plate 165, fig. 4), is similar in style; the same is true of the candlesticks made over the course of several decades by Louis-Joseph Lenhendrick, the maker of the present pair, an example of which is shown in J. Bourne and V. Brett, L’art du Luminaire, Editions Flammarion, Paris, 1992, p. 67, fig. 204. A rare set of twenty-two candlesticks, gathered together over the course of several years, was in the well-known Riahi collection (see Quelques chefs-d’œuvre de la collection Djahanguir Riahi, Ameublement français du XVIIIe siècle, Editions FMR, Milan, 1999, p. 252-254).
Louis-Joseph Lenhendrick (? - 1783)
Very little is known about the early life of this talented goldsmith. Probably originally from Germany, he came to Paris at a young age and began an apprenticeship in August 1738 in the workshop, in the Galeries du Louvre, of Thomas Germain (1673-1748), who was the most important Parisian goldsmith of the time. Less than a decade later, on May 17, 1747, he became a Master goldsmith in Paris, opening his own workshop and continuing to work with the Germain workshop, that is, with François-Thomas Germain, the son of his former master. Going into partnership with Germain, Lenhendrick participated in executing many prestigious commissions for the courts of Versailles, Lisbon, and Saint Petersburg. It was for the latter that he took part in the creation of the famous Orloff service, which Czarina Catherine II gave to her favorite. A magnificent silver gilt candelabra by Lenhendrick is on display in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon (see El Gusto “a la griega”, Nacimiento del Neoclasicismo francés, Madrid, 2008, p. 186).
Rare Pair of Matte and Burnished Gilt Bronze Two Light Greek-Inspired Wall Lights
After a Drawing by Jean-Louis Prieur (1732-1795)
Paris, transition period between Louis XV-Louis XVI, circa 1765-1770
Provenance:
– Probably the collection of Farmer-General Jean-François Leroy de Senneville (1715-1784).
Made entirely of finely chased matte and gilt bronze, the wall lights feature a neoclassical stem with an acanthus leaf base and console sides, which issues the two deeply grooved light branches with leaf decoration. They support drip pans and nozzles that are adorned with leaf friezes. The stems feature a putto with a loincloth draped around his hips. The putti stand on an entablature and hold in each hand a laurel-leaf garland, which is threaded through the Greek key motifs that adorn the light branches. On the putti’s heads stand cubes that are embellished with rosettes; they protrude from an entablature supporting a vase decorated with acanthus leaves and flower garlands, whose lid has a seed finial.
This rare and important pair of wall lights is a perfect illustration of what today is called the “Greek style”, in reference to the neoclassical style initiated by several Parisian collectors of the mid 18th century, including the Count de Caylus and Ange-Laurent Lalive de Jully, as a reaction to the rococo style that had dominated the French decorative arts for several decades, which was considered old fashioned. The model was based on a drawing by decorator Jean-Louis Prieur, one of the leaders of the neoclassical style, which is now in a private collection (illustrated in H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Die Bronzearbeiten des Spätbarock und Klassizismus, Tome I, Munich, 1986, p. 173, fig. 3.5.3). This wall light model quickly became a great success among the great Parisian collectors of the mid 1760s.
Today only a very small number of similar wall lights are known, featuring several minor variations in their decoration. Two similar pairs, three light branches, are known to exist; one such pair was offered at the sale of the collection of Madame Lelong (sold Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Maître Chevallier, April 27-30 and May 11-15, 1903, lot 334). A second pair was in the collection of Joseph Bardac (sold Paris, Me Lair-Dubreuil, Galerie Georges Petit, December 9, 1927, lot 80). Another comparable pair with two light branches, like the present pair, was formerly in the collection of Eric von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (sold Berlin, Ball & Graupe, March 23, 1931, lot 364). It was no doubt either the “Rothschild” wall lights or the present pair that was described during the 18th century as belonging to the Farmer General Jean-François Leroy de Senneville, whose posthumous sale was held on April 26, 1784. It was listed as lot 173: “A lovely pair of light branches, with stem and the figure of a child who is holding garlands in his hands, they have two branches, and are very well gilded”.
Rare Pair of Three-Light Matte and Burnished Gilt Bronze Wall Lights in the Form of Flaming Torches
After a Preparatory Drawing by Jean-Louis Prieur (1732-1795)
Paris, Transition period Louis XV-Louis XVI, circa 1770-1775
Made entirely of matte and burnished gilt bronze, each wall light features a central tapering quiver stem that is adorned with fluting with bell-husk decoration and terminates in a bouquet finial with leaves and seeds. It is further embellished with two rings framing an acanthus leaf frieze. One of them issues the three curved light branches, which are adorned with acanthus leaves and support the drip pans and nozzles, which are decorated with egg and dart friezes and spiral fluting. In the upper portion, a robust flame emerges from a corolla of elongated leaves.
By the mid 18th century, the French decorative arts were undergoing an extensive renewal. Ornamental schemes that had prevailed for decades were being challenged. This movement, led by scholars and collectors, was prompted by the exceptional archaeological discoveries made in the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, near Naples. Over the years, a handful of collectors, artists, and artisans would inspire a new style that was directly inspired by Greek and Roman antiquity. The present wall lights were made in this context of artistic effervescence. Their ornamental vocabulary, including the flaming quiver stem, the acanthus leaves, and fluted rings, is characteristic of the finest Parisian creations of the late 1760s and the beginning of the following decade. It was inspired by the work of several designers of the time, including Jean-Charles Delafosse and Jean-Louis Prieur, who executed a preparatory drawing for the present pair of wall lights that is today in the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu (illustrated in H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Die Bronzearbeiten des Spätbarock und Klassizismus, Band I, Munich, 1986, p. 172, fig. 3.5.3).
At present, the model has not been attributed to any particular bronze caster, however its overall design and the quality of the casting and chasing are similar to those of certain models of wall lights that were created at the same period by important Parisian artisans, including Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain, the great bronzier of the neoclassical revival (see J-D. Augarde, “Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain bronzier (1719-1791), inédits sur sa vie et son œuvre” in L’Estampille/L’Objet d’art, n° 308, December 1996).
Today only a few similar pairs of wall lights are known. Among them, one pair is in the Swedish Royal Collection (illustrated in J. Böttiger, Konstsamlingarna a de Swenska Kungliga Slotten, Tome II, Stockholm, 1900). A second pair is on display in the Pavlovsk Palace near Saint Petersburg; it almost certainly comes from the former Russian Imperial Collections. (see I. Sychev, The Russian Chandeliers 1760-1830, Editions PVBR, 2003, p. 87, fig. 403). One further comparable pair is in the Musée national du Château de Fontainebleau (illustrated in J-P. Samoyault, Musée national du Château de Fontainebleau, Catalogue des collections de mobilier, 1. Pendules et bronzes d’ameublement entrés sous le Premier Empire, RMN, Paris, 1989, p. 93).
Important Matte and Burnished Gilt Bronze Neoclassical Wall Cartel
Paris, Transition period Louis XV-Louis XVI, circa 1770
The round white enamel dial, signed “Cronier à Paris”, indicates the Roman numeral hours and Arabic numeral five-minute intervals by means of two pierced gilt bronze hands. The movement is housed in a finely chased matte and burnished gilt bronze neoclassical case. The clock is surmounted by a baluster vase whose lower portion is decorated with crosshatched reserves, with a lid that is adorned with acanthus leaves and is topped by a flame finial. Two laurel leaf swags pass through its handles; their extremities rest upon corner ornaments formed by volutes surmounting rams’ heads. Behind them, two flaming braziers with draperies are set on cubic bases. The sides of the clock are formed by fluted pillars that are adorned with laurel leaf swags and terminate in pinecone finials. A shaped plate under the dial is decorated with rosettes and a row of stylized truncated pyramids. In the lower part of the clock a glazed window affords a view of the pendulum; it is surrounded by oak leaf and acorn swags flanked by roundels, which frame an oblong matted reserve. The base, decorated with wide fluting, terminates in an acanthus leaf and seed bouquet.
By the mid 18th century, the ornamental vocabulary that had prevailed for several decades was being called into question. This movement, led by scholars, artists and connoisseurs, had been instigated by the extraordinary archeological discoveries that had taken place in the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, near Naples. Over the years, a handful of collectors, artists, and artisans succeeded in imposing a new style, known as neoclassicism, which was directly inspired by Greek and Roman antiquity. The present cartel was created within this particular context. Its highly architectural design and unusual size are remarkable, as is its decorative vocabulary directly influenced by the classical idiom. While the identity of the bronze caster who created it is not known, the exceptional quality of the casting, chasing, and gilding prove that it was made by very fine artisans, under the supervision of a superb bronzier such as Saint-Germain, Osmond or Caffieri. Among the similar cartels known to exist, one example signed “Gide à Paris” is illustrated in R. Mühe and Horand M. Vogel, Horloges anciennes, Manuel des horloges de table, des horloges murales et des pendules de parquet européennes, Office du Livre, Fribourg, 1978, p. 190, fig. 350. A few other identical cartels have been identified. One of these was offered at auction at the Palais Galliera in Paris by Me Ader on March 30, 1965, lot 75 (see Tardy, La pendule française, 2èe Partie: Du Louis XVI à nos jours, Paris, 1975, p. 310, fig. 2). A second clock was formerly in the well-known collection of Alberto Bruni Tedeschi (1915-1996).
Antoine Cronier (1732 - après 1806)
Antoine Crosnier, or Cronier, was one of the most important Parisian clockmakers of the second half of the 18th century. The son of a Parisian master joiner, he became a master on March 1, 1763 and opened a workshop in the rue Saint-Honoré. He quickly became very successful among influential Parisian collectors of luxury horology, and worked with the finest artisans of the time, including the cabinetmaker Jean-Pierre Latz, the bronziers François Vion and the Osmonds, and the gilder Honoré Noël. During the 18th century, several of his clocks were mentioned as belonging to the Marshal de Choiseul-Stainville, the Marquis de Sainte-Amaranthe, the Duke des Deux-Ponts and the Prince Belosselsky-Belozersky.
