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An extremely beautiful and fine quality Directoire gilt bronze mounted enamel skeleton clock of eight day duration, signed on a white enamel cartouche below the main dial Ridel à Paris, with exquisite enamel work by the eminent artist Joseph Coteau signed and dated on the reverse of the lunar dial: Coteau 1796 and also signed and inscribed on the reverse of the plaque between the lunar and main dial: Coteau rue poupé N.7. quartr S. Ándré. The elaborately polychrome decorated white enamel dial ring with Arabic numerals and rare outer Republican thirty day calendar ring, each numeral within a gilded circle interspersed by jewelled scrolls, with inner names of the twelve Republican months, with a fine pair of gilt brass hands to indicate the hours and minutes, the hour hand with a sunburst pointer and blued steel pointers for the calendar indications. The dial with cut-out centre to reveal the fully skeletonised movement with pin wheel escapement mounted on the backplate, striking on the hour and half hour on a single bell, with outside count wheel, with a very fine sunburst Medusa pendulum. The main dial surmounted by a lunar dial with Arabic numerals for the 29 ½ days of the lunar month with a beautifully painted grisaille moon on a pale blue gold star studded ground decorated below with jewels and scrolls within shaped cartouches with gold beads on a dark blue ground, the main dial centred by a medallion with a bird flying above a sockle within an arbour, above an extremely finely painted plaque again with gilded beads on a dark blue ground centred by a jewelled sunflower amid scrolls, the main dial with ring of pendant beads above a further subsidiary dial ring with four beautifully painted cartouches enclosing flowers, birds and motifs associated with the four named seasons. The gold beaded dark blue enamel arched frame on white marble Doric columns on a rectangular white marble base with beaded border centred by a gilded frieze showing playing putti in the style of Clodion, supported on toupie feet
Paris, dated 1796
Height 50 cm, width 28 cm, depth 16 cm.
Literature: Pierre Kjellberg, “Encyclopédie de la Pendule Française du Moyen Age au XXe Siècle”, 1997, p. 319, pl. B, illustrating an almost identical skeleton clock by Ridel à Paris in the Musée François-Duesberg, Mons, Belgium, with enamel work by Coteau likewise dated 1796 and also having an identical gilded frieze in the style of Clodion. Johann Willsberger, “Clocks and Watches, 600 Years of the World’s Most Beautiful Timepieces”, 1975, introductory page, illustrating another almost identical skeleton clock by Ridel à Paris.
The importance of this clock not only rests upon its maker Laurent Ridel, whose work was always of the finest quality, as well as the fact that the dial shows rare Republican time but perhaps more importantly that the magnificent dials, plaques and case were executed by the esteemed enamellist Joseph Coteau (1740-1801). Originally from Geneva, Coteau worked primarily in Paris, where he was established in rue Poupé (sometimes recorded as Roupée), St. André des Arts and was received as a maître in 1778. In 1780 Coteau was appointed Peintre-émailleur du roi et de la Manufacture Royale de Sèvres Porcelain; for the next four years he did piece-work for Sèvres whilst also working independently in Paris as a flower painter, specialising in enamelling watchcases and clock dials. By 1784 his production was considerable and though he was in great command he fell out with Sèvres
over payments and thus his contract was terminated. As an independent artist, he supplied dials, plaques and painted cases to the leading Parisian clockmakers including Robert Robin and Ferdinand Berthoud, both clockmakers to Louis XVI. Coteau appears not to have enamelled watches or small scale pieces but tended to specialise in larger works which were technically more complex due to shrinkage during firing. A Sèvres document states that he and Parpette (who also worked at the factory) introduced jewelled enamelling (a technique that involved enamelled gold-leaf foils) to both soft and hard paste porcelain. Coteau also experimented with various polychromes, producing a blue, such as we see here, that was so rare and difficult to perfect that few of his contemporaries managed to copy. The enamel paint was applied with a brush onto a copper plate and then the various colours were vitrified one by one in the kiln. The decoration was then enhanced by gilding, which after firing resulted in a matt finish. This was then burnished to restore its metallic brightness.
Like Coteau, Ridel was an expert in his field, whose name is only associated with cases of the very highest quality. He used cases made by Lemoyne, Feuchères, Denière, Mathelin and Deverberie and had dials and enamel decoration executed by Coteau as well as Georges-Adrien Merlet. Ridel is also noted to have used springs made by Monginot l’Aîné. Although little of his early life is known, Ridel appears to have made his name before the Revolution since J-D Augarde notes that he supplied a cartel clock to Mesdames Victoire and Adelaïde at Bellevue before 1789 (no. 3748 in the sale of the Château). Ridel continued his success during the Directoire period and by 1800 was established at rue aux Ours, Paris. In addition to the other skeleton clock by Ridel in the Musée François-Duesberg, Mons, Belgium (cited above), the museum owns a ‘Pendule L’Afrique’ by him, while the Metropolitan Museum, New York owns another of his clocks.
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