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AUTEL A VENUS
A rare Louis XVI gilt bronze and ebonised figural clock of eight day duration by Jean-Gabriel Imbert, signed on the white enamel dial Imbert Laine and on the backplate Imbert Lainé à Paris, the dial by the enamellist Elie Barbezat, signed on the reverse Barbezat, housed in a magnificent case made by the Mary foundry, signed on the back Mary MtRE Fondeur and inscribed with the title on the front of the case ‘Autel à Venus’. The dial with outer Arabic and inner Roman numerals and a very fine pair of pierced gilt brass hands for the hours and minutes. The spring driven movement with anchor escapement, silk thread suspension, striking on the hour and half hour on a single bell, with outside count wheel. The extremely fine case representing the altar of Venus, surmounted by foliage above a flaming fire with Venus standing to the left holding a heart above the fire and Cupid to the right above a draped urn, kneeling on rocks and holding a dove as he stretches toward Venus, the figures divided by the clock drum set upon a shaped stepped plinth centred by a frieze with pair of billing doves amid foliage and flanked either side by fluted pilasters above an ebonised wooden base decorated with gilt bronze guilloche mounts, supported on turned feet
Paris, date circa 1785
Height 40 cm, width 30 cm, depth 11 cm.
Due to their superlative quality clocks by Jean-Gabriel Imbert, known as Imbert l’Aîné (1735-95) were acquired by the wealthiest ranks of society such as the marquis de Brunoy and the duc de Deux-Ponts. Examples from his outstanding oeuvre can now be seen at the Musée de Carnavalet in Paris, the Patrimonio Nacional in Spain, the Residenzmuseum in Munich and the Palazzo Reale in Turin. Born in Devalon in the Bourgogne, Imbert l’Aîné travelled during his youth to Paris, where he worked as a compagnon for his brother-in-law, Jean-Charles Olin (husband of Imbert’s sister Anne). He worked firstly as an ouvrier-libre (i.e. a worker independent of a guild) before being received as a Parisian maître-horloger in 1776 and as testament to his standing among fellow colleagues was then appointed a deputé of his guild in 1780. Four years later however he declared bankruptcy but this did not prevent his continuation in business. For many years his younger brother Jean Edme, known as Imbert le Jeune (1741-1808), who was never received as a maître, worked with him at his various addresses. By 1767 Imbert l’Aîné was established at Carrefour de la Roquette, by 1781 at rue Planche-Mibray, three years later at rue des Arcis and at the time of his death in June 1795 at rue de Monceau.
As one of the best in his trade Imbert l’Aîné demanded equally fine suppliers, who included Humbert Droz of Switzerland from whom he acquired a number of watches. Richard and Gaspard Monginot supplied his springs while his dials were generally made by Georges-Adrien Merlet, Bezelle or as here by the renowned enamellist Elie Barbezat. Barbezat was among the best Parisian enamellists to specialise in the production of clock dials; he supplied a number of other leading Parisian clockmakers including Jean-André Lepaute, Antoine Crosnier and probably Julien Le Roy.
Imbert’s clock cases were made by a range of Parisian fondeurs in particular Robert and Jean-Baptiste Osmond, Nicolas Bonnet, Michel Poisson, François Vion, Jean Goyer, René-François Morlay and as here by Léonard Mary, while some were gilded by Le Cat and H. Martin. The present case is extremely rare since it is one of, if not, the only known clock case to have been made by the Mary foundry. The maître fondeur Léonard Mary was established at rue Saint-Nicolas when he was recorded as supplying work to Jean-Joseph Saint-Germain in 1748.
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