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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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An extremely fine Louis XVI gilt bronze ‘Pendule au Lion’ of eight day duration signed on the white enamel dial Julien Leroy à Paris, housed in a case attributed to François Vion. The dial with Arabic and Roman numerals and a fine pair of pierced gilt brass hands for the hours and minutes. The double spring barrel movement with anchor escapement, silk thread suspension, striking on the hour and half hour on a single bell, with outside count wheel. The gilt bronze case featuring the clock on the back of a lion, the drum case surmounted by a reclining Bacchante, the lion with flowing mane and serpentine tail on a rectangular concave stepped base ornamented with ribbon-tied and berried laurel swags and foliate scrolled feet to the chamfered corners Paris, date circa 1770 Height 37 cm, width 21 cm, depth 9 cm. Literature: Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel, “Vergoldete Bronzen”, 1986, p. 193, pls. 3.11.4 and 6, respectively illustrating a comparable ‘pendule au lion’ with case by François Vion circa 1770, signed on the dial Gudin à Paris, made for the Ministère d’Etat, now at the Ministry of Finance, Paris, and a design for the latter from an album in the Bibliothèque Doucet. Pierre Kjellberg, “Encyclopédie de la Pendule Française du Moyen Age au XXe Siècle”, 1997, p. 278, pl. D, illustrating a clock surmounted on the back of an identical lion on a marble base with identical bronze mounts, surmounted by a cockerel, and pl. C, illustrating another clock with identical lion upon a simpler base, surmounted by an urn, the dial signed Gilles l’Aîné à Paris. This very fine clock was produced by Pierre III Le Roy (1717-85), the brilliant eldest son of Julien Le Roy (1686-1759), who on the latter’s death succeeded his father’s business. As here clocks made after 1759 at Pierre III Le Roy’s workshop, which was directed by Louis Morin, continued to bear the name of Julien Leroy (or Le Roy). Before this, his clock dials bore the signatures ‘Pierre Le Roy fils aux Galeries du Louvre’, as well as ‘Julien Le Roy Fils’. Pierre Le Roy was one of the most educated and competent clockmakers of his day; he was the author of much research and several inventions including the bi-metallic scale (1765). However his greatest contribution to horology was his development of the marine chronometer, to which he devoted much of his life. In 1769 he was awarded a double prize from the Académie des Sciences for having discovered the best method of measuring time at sea. Though Ferdinand Berthoud’s subsequent work may have overshadowed Le Roy’s ingenious discoveries it is generally agreed that Le Roy not only managed to define, but also apply the essential principles that were to be used in subsequent nineteenth century chronometers. These principles included the detached detent escapement, the compensated balance and the isochronous balance spring. His work was more than appreciated by the State; in 1766, shortly after John Harrison’s success in England, Le Roy presented King Louis XV with his first marine watch. A decade later Louis XVI insisted upon purchasing one from his own income and at the same time granted Le Roy an annual allowance of 1200 livres. Pierre Le Roy was the eldest of four remarkable brothers who, like him, all excelled in their individual fields. Jean-Baptist became a physician, Charles a chemist and Julien-David an architect and antiquarian. Pierre, born in Paris on 25th November 1717 was received as a maître in July 1737. Later in 1759 he succeeded his father as Horloger Ordinaire du Roi by virtue of having lodgings in the Galeries du Louvre. Pierre had in fact already occupied the Louvre premises before Julien Le Roy’s death and in addition was also established at Quai de la Mégisserie, 1748 and rue de Harlay, 1760. Among his more famous pieces was his design for the great clock of the Marble Court at Château de Versailles, which was executed by Pépin 1767. After the 1760’s Le Roy tended to produce fewer numbers of decorative clocks such as the present and rare piece. He retained many of the same suppliers of watch and clock cases employed by his father and like the latter worked for the marchands-merciers, including Daguerre. At the same time he enjoyed a strong following among independent connoisseurs such as the ducs de Chaulnes and de Penthièvre and the marquis de Béringhem. His clocks could also be found in such eminent collections as those of the comtesse du Barry and the princes de Conti and de Ligne. Today one can admire his work at the Châteaux de Versailles and Beloeil as well as the Parisian Musées de l’Histoire de France, the National des Techniques and the Musée des Arts et Métiers, which houses his chronometer presented to Louis XV in 1766. The attribution to François Vion is based on the comparison of the present case with designs and finished cases outlined in Ottomeyer and Pröschel (see literature). Here the lion is facing in the opposite direction while in other instances (illus. in Kjellberg, ibid.) the pose is identical. Vion was one of the leading bronziers of his day who became a maître in 1764. Apart from a few decorative gilt bronze accessories, such as plinths for statuettes, he appears to have specialised in clock cases. As here, a number of these were supported by animals and in particular by a lion, such as the ‘pendule au Lion’ made for the Ministère d’Etat, now at the Ministry of Finance, Paris. Vion also made a number of cases with classical figures. Among his finest sculptural cases is one housing a movement by Lepaute à Paris, representing the Three Graces (Musée du Louvre, Paris) made for the comtesse du Barry (who also patronised Pierre Le Roy) at Château de Fontainebleau,. The Musée Municipal, Besançon owns a clock housed in a case by Vion surmounted by Venus and putti after a design by E-M Falconet. While the Wrightsman Collection in the Metropolitan Museum, New York owns a biscuit porcelain figure of Cupid by Falconet placed on a gilt bronze base by Vion. |