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Thématiques: Lyre

  • Kinable  -  Dubuisson
    Dieudonné Kinable (active circa 1790-1810)
    Dubuisson (1731-1815)

    Exceptional Porcelain Lyre Mantel Clock from the Royal Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory

    Pendule_456-06_HD_WEB

    Paris, late Louis XVI period, circa 1785-1790

    Height62 cm Width26 cm Depth16 cm

    Provenance:

    Former collection of Valentina Cortese (1923-2019).

     

    The round enamel dial, signed “Kinable”, indicates the hours in Roman numerals, the fifteen-minute intervals in Arabic numerals, the annual calendar and the signs of the Zodiac, by means of four hands, two of which are made of pierced gilt bronze, the two others in blued steel. The magnificent lyre-shaped case is made of pink Sèvres porcelain and finely chased and gilt bronze. The bezel is made up of a gilt bronze twisted rope; the pendulum is adorned with gilt bronze pearls; the body of the lyre is adorned with gilt bronze beading and with laurel leaf and seed motifs, with two rosettes issuing floral and foliate swags. The clock is surmounted by a mask with radiating sunrays. The spreading foot is decorated with beading and twisted rope motifs and a leafy garland. The en-suite decorated oval base is raised upon four flattened ball feet.

    The Royal Sèvres Porcelain Factory produced the lyre clock model as of 1785. Four colours were offered: turquoise, green, bleu nouveau and pink. These exceptional clocks were made for the connoisseurs of the time. Louis XVI had a similar clock in bleu nouveau colour in his Salon des jeux in Versailles; its dial bore the signature of the clockmaker Courieult (this is almost certainly the example illustrated in P. Verlet, Les bronzes dorés français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1999, p. 41).

     

    Kinable, however, was the clockmaker who purchased the greatest number of lyre cases from the factory, and he developed the model in the late 18th century. Among the porcelain lyre clocks signed by this brilliant horologer, one example is in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (illustrated in H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Band I, Munich, 1986, p. 252, fig. 4.6.26). A second such clock is in the Royal British Collection (see C. Jagger, Royal Clocks, The British Monarchy & its Timekeepers 1300-1900, 1983, p. 130, fig. 176).

     

    Dieudonné Kinable (active circa 1790 - 1810)

    Dieudonné Kinable is one of the most important Parisian clockmakers of the late 18th century. His shop was located at n° 131 Palais Royal. He purchased a great number of lyre-type porcelain clock cases from the Sèvres porcelain factory, acquiring twenty-one cases in different colours. He worked with the finest artisans of the time, among them the famous enamellers Joseph Coteau (1740-1801) and Etienne Gobin, known as Dubuisson (1731-1815), both of whom furnished him with dials. Several of his pieces are mentioned as belonging to the most important collectors of the Empire period, including the Duchesse of Fitz-James and André Masséna, Prince of Essling and Duke of Rivoli, a Napoleonic Marshall.



    Dubuisson (1731 - 1815)

    Étienne Gobin, known as Dubuisson, was one of the best enamellers working in Paris during the latter part of the 18th century and the early 19th century. During the mid 1750’s he was employed at Sèvres, then opened his own workshop, being recorded in the 1790’s in the rue de la Huchette and, circa 1812, in the rue de la Calandre. Specializing in enamelled watch cases and clock dials, he is known for his great skill and attention to detail.



    Bréant  -  Coteau
    Jacques-Thomas Bréant (1753-1807)
    Joseph Coteau (1740-1801)

    Rare White Carrara Marble and Gilt Bronze Lyre-Shaped Mantel Clock with Visible Movement

    Pendule362-06_BD_MAIL

    The enamels by Joseph Coteau

    Paris, Louis XVI period, circa 1785

    Height58 Width28 Depth14

    The white enamel ring dial, signed “Jacques Breant” and “Coteau”, indicates the Roman numeral hours and the Arabic numeral five-minute intervals and date, as well as the seconds, by means of four hands, two of which are made of pierced and gilt brass. It is placed within a lyre-shaped case made of white Carrara marble and very finely chased gilt bronze, with two-tone gilding. The decorative mounts include an acanthus leaf bouquet issuing the two curved sides, which are decorated with openwork bead friezes and vine leaves alternating with roundels and terminating in leafy scrolls from which a vine leaf swag is suspended. Surmounting the clock is a mask surrounded by sunrays, beneath which the bimetallic pendulum may be seen. The oval base is adorned with gilt bronze tassels hanging from chains, lateral rosettes, and reserves with interlacing vine leaf friezes centered with covered classical urns.

    According to Svend Eriksen, the first true lyre clock is now in the Royal Swedish Collection (see Early Neoclassicism in France, London, 1974). In France, the general composition of the lyre clock changed very little since it was first created in the late 1750s or early 1760s. However, while the design of lyre clocks did not greatly vary, the materials used and the ingenious and complex movements did undergo significant changes. These reflected the evolving tastes of connoisseurs and collectors, and showcased the exceptional skill of the clockmakers of the time. The great majority of the known examples of these clocks feature ring dials. The present example stands out due to the exceptional quality of its chasing and the gilding of its bronze mounts, as well as the precise and clear inscriptions on its ring dial that was decorated by Joseph Coteau, the most talented Parisian enameller of the last third of the 18th century.

     

    The model was inspired by an anonymous drawing now in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (see M.L. Myers, French Architectural and Ornamental Drawings of the Eighteenth Century, New York, 1992, p. 204, n° 121). Several variations were produced during the final decades of the 18th century. The examples surmounted by sunray masks, symbols of the god Apollo, including porcelain lyre clocks from the Royal Sèvres Manufactory, are among the most successful. Only a small number of comparable clocks are extant today, including one example, whose dial is signed “Louis-Simon Bourdier”, in the Musée François Duesberg in Mons (see Musée François Duesberg, Arts décoratifs 1775-1825, Bruxelles, 2004, p. 24). A second clock was formerly in the collection of Jean-Baptiste Diette (illustrated in Tardy, La pendule française, 2ème partie: Du Louis XVI à nos jours, Paris, 1975, p. 280, fig. 3). A third is in the Royal British Collection (illustrated in C. Jagger, Royal Clocks, The British Monarchy & its Timekeepers 1300-1900, 1983, p. 132, fig.179). One further such clock, which has a Sèvres porcelain base, is on display in the Bordeaux Musée des Arts décoratifs (see Y. and M. Gay, “Les pendules lyre”, in Bulletin de l’Association nationale des Collectionneurs et Amateurs d’Horlogerie ancienne, Autumn-Winter 1993, n° 68, p. 36, fig. 69).

    Jacques-Thomas Bréant (1753 - 1807)

    Born in Paris, he began as an ouvrier libre. In 1783, the year he became a master, he was established in the Enclos Saint-Martin-des-Champs. In 1783 his workshop was in the rue Saint-Martin; in 1786 he opened a shop in the Palais Royal; in 1795 he was in the rue du Temple. Among his clients were the Duke d’Orléans, the Marquis de Laval, de la Rochebrochard, d’Aulany and d’Amenoncour, the Countesses de Faudoas and de Vascoeil, the Count de Villefranche and Messieurs Michau de Montaran and L’Espine de Granville, however he went bankrupt in 1786, and again in 1788. In 1788, several case makers and enamellers were listed among his creditors, including the bronziers P. Viel, N. Florion, E. Blavet, A. Lemire, P. d’Ecosse and J. B. J. Zaccon, the gilders C. Galle, J. P. Carrangeot, L. Le Prince, and the enamellers Merlet, Bezelle, Barbichon, as well as the renowned Joseph Coteau.



    Joseph Coteau (1740 - 1801)

    The most renowned enameller of his time, he worked with most of the best contemporary Parisian clockmakers. He was born in Geneva, where he was named master painter-enameler of the Académie de Saint Luc in 1766. Several years later he settled in Paris, and from 1772 to the end of his life, he was recorded in the rue Poupée. Coteau is known for a technique of relief enamel painting, which he perfected along with Parpette and which was used for certain Sèvres porcelain pieces, as well as for the dials of very fine clocks. Among the pieces that feature this distinctive décor are a covered bowl and tray in the Sèvres Musée national de la Céramique (Inv. SCC2011-4-2); a pair of “cannelés à guirlandes” vases in the Louvre Museum in Paris (see the exhibition catalogue Un défi au goût, 50 ans de création à la manufacture royale de Sèvres (1740-1793), Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1997, p. 108, catalogue n° 61); and a ewer and the “Comtesse du Nord” tray and bowl in the Pavlovsk Palace in Saint Petersburg (see M. Brunet and T. Préaud, Sèvres, Des origines à nos jours, Office du Livre, Fribourg, 1978, p. 207, fig. 250). A blue Sèvres porcelain lyre clock by Courieult, whose dial is signed “Coteau” and is dated “1785”, is in the Musée national du château in Versailles; it appears to be identical to the example mentioned in the 1787 inventory of Louis XVI’s apartments in Versailles (see Y. Gay and A. Lemaire, “Les pendules lyre”, in Bulletin de l’Association nationale des collectionneurs et amateurs d’Horlogerie ancienne, autumn 1993, n° 68, p. 32C).



    Bréant  -  Coteau
    Jacques-Thomas Bréant (1753-1807)
    Joseph Coteau (1740-1801)

    Rare White Marble and Gilt Bronze Turkish-Style Lyre Clock with Visible Movement

    Pendule364-05_BD_MAIL

    The enamels by Joseph Coteau

    Paris, Louis XVI period, circa 1785

    Height62 Width32 Depth13.5

    The round white enamel dial, with delicate bell motifs under gold and polychrome canopies, is signed “coteau”. It features a blue enamel cartouche bearing the signature “Jacs Breant à Paris”, and partially reveals the movement, while indicating the Roman numeral hours, the Arabic numeral five-minute intervals and date, and has a central seconds hand. The white Carrara marble lyre-shaped case is adorned with finely chased gilt mounts in the Oriental style, with motifs such as vegetation, pineapples, hanging draperies, cut-out friezes of stylized motifs, tassels, olive-shaped beads, and beadwork, among other things. The clock is surmounted by a fine male figure dressed and coiffed in the Oriental style, who is holding an umbrella and sits on a cushion that rests on an entablature decorated with scallops, under which is fixed the oscillating bimetallic pendulum.

    According to Svend Eriksen, the first true lyre clock model is in the Royal Swedish Collection (see Early Neoclassicism in France, London, 1974). In France, the general makeup of the lyre clock changed very little since its creation, which is thought to have taken place in the late 1750s or the early years of the following decade. However, while the form of lyre clocks did not significantly evolve, the materials used, as well as the ingenious and complex movements, underwent considerable changes, reflecting the changing tastes of connoisseurs and demonstrating the extraordinary skill of clockmakers of the time.

    The great majority of known models have a dial that is set within a bronze lyre-shaped frame, and are surmounted by a sun mask or eagle’s heads; certain clocks have Sèvres porcelain cases (for several such clocks, see P. Kjellberg, Encyclopédie de la pendule française du Moyen Age au XXe siècle, Paris, 1997, p. 224-227; and Y. Gay and A. Lemaire, “Les pendules lyre”, in Bulletin de l’association nationale des collectionneurs et amateurs d’horlogerie ancienne, 1993, n° 68, fig. 53 and 62).

    Subtly blending the characteristics of lyre and skeleton clocks, the present example is extremely elegant. It stands out from other examples due to the quality of the chasing of its gilt bronze mounts and its unusual Turkish-style composition. The “à la turque” decorative style seems to have appeared in the early 1780s and was initially appreciated only by a handful of important collectors of the day, including the Count d’Artois who employed it for his Bagatelle pavilion (see the exhibition catalogue La folie d’Artois, 1988, p. 93, 104 and 105). Among the rare known examples of this type of clock, a similar model, today only partially preserved and lacking its movement, is in the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris (illustrated in L. Metman, Le musée des Arts décoratifs, Le bronze, 2ème album, Paris, circa 1910, plate CXVI, fig.1046).

    Jacques-Thomas Bréant (1753 - 1807)

    Born in Paris, he began as an ouvrier libre. In 1783, the year he became a master, he was established in the Enclos Saint-Martin-des-Champs. In 1783 his workshop was in the rue Saint-Martin; in 1786 he opened a shop in the Palais Royal; in 1795 he was in the rue du Temple. Among his clients were the Duke d’Orléans, the Marquis de Laval, de la Rochebrochard, d’Aulany and d’Amenoncour, the Countesses de Faudoas and de Vascoeil, the Count de Villefranche and Messieurs Michau de Montaran and L’Espine de Granville, however he went bankrupt in 1786, and again in 1788. In 1788, several case makers and enamellers were listed among his creditors, including the bronziers P. Viel, N. Florion, E. Blavet, A. Lemire, P. d’Ecosse and J. B. J. Zaccon, the gilders C. Galle, J. P. Carrangeot, L. Le Prince, and the enamellers Merlet, Bezelle, Barbichon, as well as the renowned Joseph Coteau.



    Joseph Coteau (1740 - 1801)

    The most renowned enameller of his time, he worked with most of the best contemporary Parisian clockmakers. He was born in Geneva, where he was named master painter-enameler of the Académie de Saint Luc in 1766. Several years later he settled in Paris, and from 1772 to the end of his life, he was recorded in the rue Poupée. Coteau is known for a technique of relief enamel painting, which he perfected along with Parpette and which was used for certain Sèvres porcelain pieces, as well as for the dials of very fine clocks. Among the pieces that feature this distinctive décor are a covered bowl and tray in the Sèvres Musée national de la Céramique (Inv. SCC2011-4-2); a pair of “cannelés à guirlandes” vases in the Louvre Museum in Paris (see the exhibition catalogue Un défi au goût, 50 ans de création à la manufacture royale de Sèvres (1740-1793), Musée du Louvre, Paris, 1997, p. 108, catalogue n° 61); and a ewer and the “Comtesse du Nord” tray and bowl in the Pavlovsk Palace in Saint Petersburg (see M. Brunet and T. Préaud, Sèvres, Des origines à nos jours, Office du Livre, Fribourg, 1978, p. 207, fig. 250). A blue Sèvres porcelain lyre clock by Courieult, whose dial is signed “Coteau” and is dated “1785”, is in the Musée national du château in Versailles; it appears to be identical to the example mentioned in the 1787 inventory of Louis XVI’s apartments in Versailles (see Y. Gay and A. Lemaire, “Les pendules lyre”, in Bulletin de l’Association nationale des collectionneurs et amateurs d’Horlogerie ancienne, autumn 1993, n° 68, p. 32C).



    Dubuisson  -  Locré
    Dubuisson (1731-1815)
    Locré Manufactory (1772-1824)

    Exceptional Celadon Green Porcelain and Matte and Burnished Gilt Bronze Lyre-Form Clock

    Pendule309-04_BD_MAIL

    The dial signed and dated “Dubuisson 1818”

    Paris, first quarter of the 19th century, circa 1815-1820

    Height60 Width26.5 Depth15

    The round white enamel dial, adorned with a frieze of gold flowers and cabochons in the manner of Coteau, indicates the Roman numeral hours, the minute graduations and the date, by means of three hands, two of which are made of pierced and gilt bronze. It is dated “1818” and is signed “Dubuisson”, the mark of the workshop of Etienne Gobin, known as Dubuisson (1731-1815), whose widow continued to run the workshop after the enameler’s death. The movement is set in a magnificent finely chased matte and burnished gilt bronze lyre-form case with celadon green porcelain mounts made by the Locré factory. The bezel, decorated with a frieze of leaves and seeds, is framed by a ring of brilliant-cut rhinestones. The sides of the lyre are embellished with bands chased with ribbons and beads and adorned with laurel branches emerging from sun motifs. The upper portion, to which the bimetallic pendulum is attached, is decorated with spiral rosettes, flower and leaf garlands, and a sun mask symbolizing Apollo, the sun god. The oval base is adorned with spiral bands and an egg-and-dart frieze, and is embellished with suspended flower swags. The clock is raised upon four flattened ball feet.

    The “lyre” clock model was produced in porcelain by the Royal Sèvres porcelain factory as of the mid-1780s. It was generally made in one of four colors: turquoise, green, pink, and a blue known as bleu nouveau. These extraordinary clocks were made for the most important collectors of the time; in his Salon des jeux in Versailles King Louis XVI had a blue porcelain lyre clock whose dial was signed by the clockmaker Courieult (almost certainly the example illustrated in P. Verlet, Les bronzes dorés français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1999, p. 41). However, it was the clockmaker Kinable, the largest purchaser of this type of clock cases from the factory, who developed the model toward the end of Louis XVI’s reign. He signed the dial of a rare turquoise porcelain clock that is illustrated in P. Kjellberg, Encyclopédie de la pendule française du Moyen Age au XXe siècle, Paris, 1997, p. 230, fig. A. To the best of our knowledge, only one other green porcelain lyre clock is known; produced by the Sèvres factory, it is today in the Musée François Duesberg in Mons (illustrated in Musée François Duesberg, Arts décoratifs 1775-1825, Brussels, 2004, p. 25).

    The present clock presents unique features. It was made during the first quarter of the 19th century, not by the Sèvres porcelain factory, but by the Locré factory, which at the time was called  “Pouyat et Russinger”, and was one of the most important Parisian manufactories of the early 19th century. Located in the rue Fontaine-au-Roi, the factory had been founded in the early 1770s by Jean-Baptiste Locré. Several years later, Locré went into partnership with Laurent Russinger, who ran the manufactory until the late 18th century. Around 1800, the Limoges merchant François Pouyat became Russinger’s partner and became responsible for running the company. Pouyat greatly increased the factory’s activities until 1810, then sold it to his three sons, who continued production, with great success, until the Restoration. The Pouyat et Russinger factory specialized in common but high quality articles, mainly tableware and decorative pieces. At the same time, it produced works on commission – these were very high quality luxury items including several vases with grisaille decoration, such as a pair of oval vases that were formerly in the collection of Michel Bloit and are today in the Musée Adrien Dubouché in Limoges (see R. de Plinval de Guillebon, Faïence et porcelaine de Paris XVIIIe-XIXe siècles, Editions Faton, Dijon, 1995, p. 403, fig. 395) and the present lyre clock, which appears to be the only example made by the Locré Manufacture, along the lines of the model produced by the Sèvres porcelain factory.

    Dubuisson (1731 - 1815)

    Étienne Gobin, known as Dubuisson, was one of the best enamellers working in Paris during the latter part of the 18th century and the early 19th century. During the mid 1750’s he was employed at Sèvres, then opened his own workshop, being recorded in the 1790’s in the rue de la Huchette and, circa 1812, in the rue de la Calandre. Specializing in enamelled watch cases and clock dials, he is known for his great skill and attention to detail.



    Locré Manufactory (1772 - 1824)

    The Locré Manufactory (active 1772-1824) is one of the most important Parisian factories of the last third of the 18th century and the final decades of the following century. Located in the rue Fontaine-au-Roi in Paris, the factory was founded in the early 1770s by Jean-Baptiste Locré. Several years later Locré went into partnership with Laurent Russinger, a porcelain maker and a sculptor, who became the director of the factory until the late 18th century. The factory, which soon became known for the exceptional quality and originality of his work, was one of the main rivals of the Royal Sèvres Manufactory.



    In the same category
    Kinable  -  Dubuisson
    Dieudonné Kinable (active circa 1790-1810)
    Dubuisson (1731-1815)

    Exceptional Porcelain Lyre Mantel Clock from the Royal Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory

    APF_Pendule091_04

    Enamel Dial signed “Dubuisson

    Paris, late Louis XVI period, circa 1785-1790

    Height62 Width26 Depth16

    The round enamel dial, signed “Kinable”, indicates the hours in Roman numerals, the fifteen-minute intervals in Arabic numerals, the annual calendar and the signs of the Zodiac, by means of four hands, two of which are made of pierced gilt bronze, the two others in blued steel. The magnificent lyre-shaped case is made of “bleu nouveau” Sèvres porcelain and finely chased and gilt bronze. The bezel is made up of a gilt bronze twisted rope; the pendulum is adorned with brilliant-cut paste stones; the body of the lyre is adorned with gilt bronze beading and with laurel leaf and seed motifs, with two rosettes issuing floral and foliate swags. The clock is surmounted by a mask with radiating sunrays. The spreading foot is decorated with beading and twisted rope motifs and a leafy garland. The en-suite decorated oval base is raised upon four flattened ball feet.

    The Royal Sèvres Porcelain Factory produced the lyre clock model as of 1785. Four colours were offered: turquoise, green, pink and bleu nouveau. These exceptional clocks were made for the connoisseurs of the time. Louis XVI had a similar clock in his Salon des jeux in Versailles; its dial bore the signature of the clockmaker Courieult (this is almost certainly the example illustrated in P. Verlet, Les bronzes dorés français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1999, p. 41).

    Kinable, however, was the clockmaker who purchased the greatest number of lyre cases from the factory, and he developed the model in the late 18th century. Among the porcelain lyre clocks signed by this brilliant horologer, one example is in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (illustrated in H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Band I, Munich, 1986, p. 252, fig. 4.6.26). A second such clock is in the Royal British Collection (see C. Jagger, Royal Clocks, The British Monarchy & its Timekeepers 1300-1900, 1983, p. 130, fig. 176).

    Dieudonné Kinable (active circa 1790 - 1810)

    Dieudonné Kinable is one of the most important Parisian clockmakers of the late 18th century. His shop was located at n° 131 Palais Royal. He purchased a great number of lyre-type porcelain clock cases from the Sèvres porcelain factory, acquiring twenty-one cases in different colours. He worked with the finest artisans of the time, among them the famous enamellers Joseph Coteau (1740-1801) and Etienne Gobin, known as Dubuisson (1731-1815), both of whom furnished him with dials. Several of his pieces are mentioned as belonging to the most important collectors of the Empire period, including the Duchesse of Fitz-James and André Masséna, Prince of Essling and Duke of Rivoli, a Napoleonic Marshall.



    Dubuisson (1731 - 1815)

    Étienne Gobin, known as Dubuisson, was one of the best enamellers working in Paris during the latter part of the 18th century and the early 19th century. During the mid 1750’s he was employed at Sèvres, then opened his own workshop, being recorded in the 1790’s in the rue de la Huchette and, circa 1812, in the rue de la Calandre. Specializing in enamelled watch cases and clock dials, he is known for his great skill and attention to detail.