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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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A very important Louis XV gilt and patinated bronze Pendule ‘À L’Éléphant’ of eight day duration, signed on the white enamel dial and on the movement Huguet à Paris, housed in a magnificent patinated and gilt bronze case attributed to the eminent bronzier Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain. The white enamel dial with outer Arabic numerals and stylised fleurs-de-lis between the inner Roman numerals, with a fine pair of pierced gilt brass hands for the hours and minutes. The movement with silk thread suspension, anchor escapement, striking on the hour and half hour on a single bell, with outside count wheel. The exceptionally fine drum-shaped case decorated with floral garlands surmounted by a seated monkey wearing a tricorn hat and holding a sickle in his left hand, the clock with scrolled base supported on the back of a patinated bronze elephant with gilded girth, raised trunk and feet resting on a foliate rocaille plinth with C-scroll and foliate edge Paris, date circa 1750 Height 41 cm, width 32 cm. Literature: Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel, “Vergoldete Bronzen”, 1986, p. 124, pl. 2.8.5, illustrating an identical case, the monkey without anything its hand, with movement by J. Baptiste Baillon, c. 1750 in the Residenz, Bamberg, Bavaria and noting that another identical case signed on the dial Fieffe de L’Observatoire is housed in Schloss Fasanerie, and pl. 2.8.6, illustrating a comparable clock with elephant looking in the other direction, the case by Jacques Caffiéri, c. 1755 in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. J. Ramon Colon De Carvajal, “Catalogo De Relojes Del Patrimonio Nacional”, 1987, p. 23, no. 4, illustrating an almost identical model, again with nothing in the monkey’s hand, in the Spanish Royal collection. Klaus Maurice, “Fine Antique Clocks of the 17th to 19th Century”, 1990, pp. 66-67, illustrating a comparable clock surmounted by a monkey with movement by Pierre Flournoy and p. 66, pl. 52 illustrating another elephant clock with surmounting putto, the movement by Beckaert à Paris in the Pitti Palace, Florence and pl. 53 showing an almost identical case with movement by Baillon in the Residenz Munich. Tardy, “Les Plus Belles Pendules Françaises”, 1994, p. 192, col pl. XXXI, showing a very similar clock with standing Chinaman with parasol and dove, the movement by Vautrin à Paris. Jean-Dominique Augarde, “Les Ouvriers du Temps”, 1996, p. 90, pl. 55, illustrating an almost identical case but with monkey holding a parasol in his right hand and seated upon protruding flowers. Elke Niehüser, “Die Französische Bronzeuhr”, 1997, p. 241, pl. 890, showing an almost identical clock case. Pierre Kjellberg, “Encyclopédie de la Pendule Française du Moyen Age au XXe Siècle”, 1997, p. 126, pl. A, illustrating a very similar clock with movement by Charles le Roy à Paris. This wonderful case can be confidently attributed to the celebrated bronzier Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain (1719-1791), based on comparisons with identical or near identical models cited above. For further discussions on the same subject see p. ?? (old 65) in this book. An almost identical clock, surmounted by the same monkey holding a parasol was sold by this gallery (illustrated in Richard Redding, “Masterpieces of the Past”, 2004, p. 67). The latter housed a movement by Jean-Baptiste Baillon III (d. 1772) and was signed accordingly on the dial. The present clock however is signed on both the movement and dial Hoguet à Paris. Although several eighteenth century clockmakers belonging to the same family and spanning two generations are recorded, Tardy notes that it was François I Hoguet (d. before 1766) who signed his clocks in that same manner. François I Hoguet and his brother Gatien (d. circa 1757) were both Parisian clockmakers of repute; they were the sons of François Hoguet, a master ribbon-maker and Gatienne Le Roy, which made them first cousins to the clockmakers Julien II Le Roy (1686-1759) and Pierre II Le Roy (1687-1762). After his first marriage to Suzanne Gorin, François I furthered his career by marrying Marie-Elizabeth Martinot, daughter of the maître-horloger Jérôme Martinot (1671-1724), and worked ouvrier libre, independently of a guild with the latter’s son Jean V Martinot (1698-1780) who took over his father’s role as Valet de Chambre-Horloger Ordinaire du Roi and Gouveneur du Grand Horloge du Palais. In due course François I Hoguet’s son François II (d. after 1766) followed his profession while his daughter Jeanne married Thomas Ardesoif (1721 d. before 1771), a watch case maker and his son Jean-Baptiste-Auguste worked as an engraver. By 1735 Hoguet was established at Tour de l’Horloge and was almost certainly still there when he made the present clock but by 1757 had moved to rue Saint-André-des-Arts. |