A very important and rare Louis XVI gilt bronze mounted mahogany long case regulator of fourteen day duration by Robert Robin housed in a magnificent case attributed to Étienne Levasseur with superb mounts attributed to Pierre Gouthière. The white enamel dial signed Robin Hger Du Roy, with Roman and Arabic numerals and a superb pair of pierced gilt brass hands for the hours and minutes and a blued steel pointer for the sweep centre seconds. The four-pillar movement with large brass plates secured to an oak seat board, with pin-wheel anchor escapement, knife edge suspension, the steel rod with a massive brass bob and regulation nut below the bob, pulley wound, weight driven and going, striking on a single bell, with a string pull to activate the maintaining power. The angular Neo-classical case with a square hood with glazed side panels ornamented at the front with four foliate spandrels around the gilt bezel, surmounted by a stepped sockle supporting a gilt bronze urn with flaming finial and hung with floral and foliate swags that suspend from scrolled handles, the trunk of the case with glazed side panels and a glazed door, through which one can view the pendulum and massive brass bob, above a square mahogany plinth decorated to the front and sides with an elaborate foliate rosette mount within a gilt bronze border, upon a stepped rectangular base ornamented with a Vitruvian scroll frieze within a beaded border upon a later white grey veined base Paris, date circa 1780-85 Height 231 cm, width 38.5 cm, depth 24.5 cm. Literature: Tardy, “Les Plus Belles Pendules Françaises” 1994, p. 159, illustrating a long case regulator by Ferdinand Berthoud housed in a very similar mahogany case, bearing the stamp of Étienne Levasseur with very similar mounts which Tardy notes as probably being by Pierre Gouthière. Peter Heuer & Klaus Maurice, “European Pendulum Clocks. Decorative Instruments of Measuring Time”, 1988, p. 114, pl. 206, illustrating the same or a very similar long case regulator as above housing a movement by Ferdinand Berthoud. Peter Hughes, “The Wallace Collection Catalogue of Furniture”, 1996, p. 445, no. F271, illustrating a regulator by Ferdinand Berthoud housed in a comparable but more ornate case by Balthazar Lieutaud. Jean-Dominique Augarde, “Les Ouvriers du Temps”, 1996, p. 266, illustrating a regulator by Ferdinand Berthoud housed in comparable but more ornate case by Balthazar Lieutaud in the Musée de Versailles. This rare and elegant long case clock was made by Robert Robin (1741-99) – a brilliant horologist who made significantly advances in the quest for accurate time measurement. Not only known for his technical prowess, Robin also had a keen artistic eye and only used the very finest and most ‘up to date’ cases, mounts and dials, which were supplied by the leading makers of his day. In this instance the case with its glazed sides so that the pendulum and bob can be seen from all angles, was almost certainly made by the esteemed ébéniste Étienne Levasseur (1721-98) while the bronzes can be attributed to Pierre Gouthière (1732-1813). During the 1780s Robin began creating a number of long case regulators as part of his endeavour to accurately record time, which he described in a pamphlet of 1782 entitled “Description d’une pendule à secondes ou Machine pour mesurer le tems avec la plus grande exactitude”. Although long case regulators became a constant amongst Robin’s productions, only three others are known. One was made for his favourite patron Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1787 and is now housed in the Musée du Louvre in Paris. Another, dated 1792, is in the Musée de Paul Dupuy, Toulouse, (Edouard Gelis donation; see Michel Hayard, “Chefs-d’oeuvre de l’horlogerie ancienne. Collection du Musée Paul Dupuy de Toulouse”, 2004, pp. 274-76) while the third of circa 1790 was included in the Justice Warren Shepro Collection, Illinois USA, (sold at Sotheby’s New York, 26th April 2001, lot 145). It is interesting to note that all three employ the same motto on the thermometer scale as Janvier used on that of the regulator given to Lhuillier. Robin was an ambitious man of great influence who achieved almost unrivalled success with a string of titles and important official posts to his name. Appointed to no less than two monarchs, his talents and the patronage of the royal family enabled him to count among his clientele the cream of the Parisian high society. Little is known of his early life but that he was born in Chauny, north east of Paris and at the age of 23 was appointed to King Louis XV as Marchand-Horloger Privilégié du Roi. Robin resigned two years later and in 1767 was received as a maître-horloger. The most brilliant phase of his career began in 1778 when he was appointed Horloger du duc de Chartres and the Académie des Sciences approved two of his inventions. One was an astronomical clock, which was promptly acquired for Louis XVI. Robin became famed for his mantle clocks, which featured astronomical indications and compensated pendulums. He also applied the same principal to regulators; among them was an early example that was acquired by the duc d’Aumont. Equally interested in watchmaking, from 1786 he used a special type of escapement, which he also incorporated into his monumental clocks, supplying for example those at the Grand Commune at Versailles in 1782 and at the Petit Trianon in 1785. By this date Robin had moved premises several times and was in the unprecedented position of being appointed to both Louis XVI and to his wife, Marie-Antoinette. He had been appointed Valet de Chambre-Horloger Ordinaire du Roi in 1783 and in 1786 was installed in lodgings in the Galeries du Louvre from where he was at the King’s disposal. Marie-Antoinette was so enchanted by his beautifully styled clocks that in 1786 she appointed him as her Valet de Chambre-Horloger Ordinaire du Reine. At least 23 clocks by Robin were listed in the 1793 inventory of her belongings; another ten were recorded as in the possession of Monsieur, Louis XVI’s brother. Other members of court and influential clients included the maréchaux ducs de Duras and de Richelieu who acted as ‘Premiers Gentilshommes de la Chambre’, the marquis de Sérent, tutor to the ducs d’Angoulême and de Berry, and the marquis de Courtanvaux. As one of history’s truly great clockmakers, works by Robin continue to be prized among the world’s finest private and public collections. In addition to those mentioned above one can find his work at the Musées du Louvre, Arts Décoratifs, National des Techniques, Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers and National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris, the Wallace Collection, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Guildhall, London as well Baron Rothschild’s former residence at Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire. The Musée d’Horlogerie; La Chaux-de-Fonds; the Deutsches Museum, Munich and the Museum der Angewandten Kunst, Vienna all own examples of his work as do the Patrimonio Nacional, Spain; Pavlovsk and the Hermitage, at Saint Petersburg. American collections include the Frick Collection, New York, Cleveland Museum of Art, the Huntington Collection, San Marino and the Institute of Art Indianapolis. Robin’s success was partly due to his personality but more importantly due to his mechanical brilliance and artistic acumen. His clocks were only ever housed in the most beautiful and most modern cases and rarely, if ever, is his name associated with anything other than the very finest case and dial. Whilst many of his cases were supplied by leading ébénistes such as Balthazar Lieutaud, Jean-Henri Riesener and Adam Weisweiler, the present one was almost certainly by Étienne Levasseur since Tardy (op. cit) illustrates an almost identical gilt mounted mahogany case housing a movement by Robin’s esteemed contemporary Ferdinand Berthoud, which is stamped with Levasseur’s name. Furthermore Tardy notes that the mounts on the latter, which are very similar to the present example including a surmounting urn and a rosette on the base, were probably by Pierre Gouthière. In his book “French Furniture Makers”, 1989, p. 309, Alexandre Pradère notes that Levasseur “was one of the most important ébénistes of his time” but “also one of the least known.” Trained by Boulle and appointed a maître ébéniste in 1767, Levasseur predominantly made his name producing luxury furniture in Japanese lacquer, Boulle marquetry and mahogany. As fashions changed, toward the end of his career he produced a number of very fine pieces in the strict Neo-classical style. In 1782 he became an adjudicator for his guild and from 1785 to 1789 is recorded as having supplied the Garde-Meuble Royal with a number of relatively simple pieces of furniture in mahogany and walnut. It would seem that clock cases were rare amongst his oeuvre. As noted the bronze work is attributed to the esteemed Parisian fondeur-doreur Pierre Gouthière. Of fairly humble origins, Gouthière was the son of a saddle maker who by the late 1770’s rose to become one of the greatest Parisian bronziers. Like a number of successful apprentices he married the widow of his employer François Cériset and consequently took over his business. In 1758 he was received as a maître doreur and in 1767 was appointed doreur du roi to Louis XV. His clientele also included the marquis de Marigny, d’Artois and the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre. Gouthière’s repertoire included candelabra, wall-lights, chandeliers, vases, furniture, chimney pieces as well as mounts for porcelain and marble vases and clock cases - the most notable being the famous Avignon clock in the Wallace Collection, 1871. Success enabled Gouthière to lead an extravagant life style but after 1775 his finances began to suffer when certain ventures collapsed and two of his main patrons died. This and the 750,000 livres owed to him by Madame du Barry for nearly 20 years work finally forced him into bankruptcy in 1788. Despite his earlier success his work is very rare while the magnificent Avignon clock is the only known piece by him to have been signed.