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An extremely rare Louis XV gilt bronze figural cartel clock of eight day duration signed on the white enamel dial and on the movement Le Faucheur à Paris and housed in a magnificent case attributed to the esteemed fondeur-ciseleur Jacques Caffiéri. The dial with blue Roman and Arabic numerals and a fine pair of pierced gilt brass hands for the hours and minutes. The large rectangular and canted corner movement with anchor escapement, silk thread suspension, striking on the hour and half hour on a single bell, with outside count wheel, with pull repeat. The magnificent case of foliate cartouche outline decorated overall with abundant flowers and foliage surmounted by the seated figure of Flora poised as she looks down to a winged cherub who appears to be supporting the clock drum from below
Paris, date circa 1740
Height 62 cm, width 36 cm.
Literature: Pierre Kjellberg, “Encyclopédie de la Pendule Française du Moyen Age au XXe Siècle”, 1997, p 101, pl. G, illustrating a grand cartel case of similar design, housing a clock signed on the dial Charles Le Roy.
The movement was made by Alexander Lefaucheur (d. after 1772), who is known to have made very fine and complicated movements housed in high quality cases. Born at Evreux he was received as a maître in October 1729. Such was his skill that in March 1745 he was appointed Valet de Chambre-Horloger Ordinaire du Roi to Louis XV and was one of the few to hold that position and also to have a shop during the king’s reign. In 1749 he enjoyed further promotion when he replaced Jean V Martinot as Gouverneur du Grand Horloge du Palais. As his career progressed upward so too did Lefaucheur move addresses; in 1730 he was established at rue de la Lanterne. Seven years later he was at rue la Verrerie at the Roy de France; by 1739 he had moved to Pont-au-Change and finally sometime before 1762 he was settled at Quai de L’Horloge du Palais Au Méridien.
In addition to the king, Lefaucheur made clocks and watches for many of the French aristocracy including Mademoiselle de Sens as well as Monsieur de Flainville, de Farcy, Lalive de Prunoy and Sollier. As one of the finest makers of his day, examples of his work can be seen at Waddesdon Manor, Buckinghamshire, the Walters Art Gallery Baltimore, the Patrimonio Nacional Spain, the Musée Historique at Orléans and the Musée National des Techniques in Paris. Some of Lefaucheur’s dials were supplied by Decla while his clock cases were made by leading bronziers including F. Goyer, J-J de Saint-Germain, Duhamel and the Caffiéris, of which the present example is attributed to Jacques Caffiéri (1678-1755) on account of its high quality and similarity in design to other works from his oeuvre. Trained as both a sculptor and bronzier Caffiéri was a master at creating such complicated Rococo cases in which the figures appear to tumble from the main structure. Similar examples include his ‘Triumph of Love’ case by both him and his father Philippe (1634-1716) as well as a pair of cartels with flying putti that are attributed to Jacques (respectively illustrated in Jean-Dominique Augarde, “Les Ouvriers du Temps”, 1996, p. 17, pl. 3 and p. 130, pl. 89).
Of Italian descent, Jacques Caffiéri was elected to the Académie de Saint-Luc as a sculptor and shortly before 1715 was accepted as a maître fondeur-ciseleur. From then until his death he resided at rue des Canettes. From 1736 onward he was constantly employed by the Crown, being appointed fondeur-ciseleur des Bâtiments du Roi and as such produced works for many of the royal palaces. His most important royal commissions included the creation of a large astronomical clock after designs by C.-S. Passement, now at Versailles as well as two monumental high Rococo chandeliers in gilt bronze, now in the Wallace Collection, London. Caffiéri was also commissioned by the Crown to execute two large gilt bronze mirror frames after designs by the architect A.-J. Gabriel, which Louis XV presented to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He also made furniture mounts, notably those for a commode by A.-R. Gaudreau made in 1739 for Louis XV’s bedchamber at Versailles (now in the Wallace Collection) and probably another similar commode for Compiègne. He was also responsible for the mounts of a chimney-piece in the Dauphin’s apartment at Versailles, supplied in 1747 as well as two signed figures intended to be mounted on a cabinet probably for a princely German patron. Jacques Caffiéri also proved to be a portrait sculptor of distinction, as evidenced by his busts of his patron, baron de Besenval and the latter’s son as well as of baron de Brunstadt. In addition to prominent collections cited above, Jacques Caffiéri’s work can be admired in many other important world collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the Residenzmuseum in Munich as well as Cleveland Museum of Art.
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