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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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RICHARD REDDING ANTIQUES |
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An extremely beautiful Empire gilt bronze mantle clock of eight day duration, signed on the white enamel dial Galle Rue Vivienne à Parria, the dial with Roman numerals and blued steel 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 very fine case by Claude Galle representing L’Etude, with the standing figure of a classical Muse reading a book as she leans against an arched plinth enclosing the dial, cast below with the figure of Father Time holding his sickle and hour glass beside Night seated in front of a globe, compasses and a lamp, set on a stepped rectangular base with foliate border cast with a central flaming lamp flanked by a pair of seated classical winged female figures personifying History as they write on a tablet, the base on winged lion paw feet Paris, date circa 1810 Height 61.5 cm, width 42 cm, depth 22 cm. Literature: Léon de Groër, “Les Arts Décoratifs de 1790 à 1850”, 1985, p. 290, pl. 554, illustrating an identical clock in the Belgian Royal Collection and noting that an identical clock with movement by Bailly à Paris was delivered to the chamber de l’impératrice Marie-Louise at the Grand Trianon on 9th December 1810, priced at 1400 francs. Christophe Huchet de Quénetain, “Les Styles Consulat et Empire”, 2005, p. 91, pl. 59, illustrating a clock of the exact same model and dimensions by Claude Galle with enamel work by Henri-François Dubuisson, noted as being exhibited at the Exposition des produits de l’industrie in 1819. This fine clock case was made by Claude Galle (1759-1815), one of Napoleon’s favourite bronziers. The inventory made on 1st April 1815, following Galle’s death, listed a number of clock cases that revolved around the theme of L’Etude. Among them was a clock of the exact same model without a movement which was described as ‘Une pendule, borne à feuilles avec bas relief l’étude et le tems, ciselée dorée mat sans movement... 220 [francs]’. After Galle’s death his business at rue Vivienne was reopened by his son Gérard-Jean Galle (1788-1846), who in 1819 showed an identical clock at the Paris Industrial Exhibition of 1819. Gérard-Jean Galle also produced a variant of the model, circa 1820, which though similar in many details, incorporated an additional lyre propped up on the left hand side of the dial plinth and thus the standing figure of L’Etude is more readily identified as Erato, Muse of lyric and love poetry whose attributes included the lyre. Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843) was responsible for a similarly styled clock in which L’Etude was replaced by a winged male youth personifying the Spirit of the Arts (Château de la Malmaison, illustrated in Tardy, “Les Plus Belles Pendules Françaises”, 1994, p. 231, pl. LXXXI). Here however the main subject of the clock case revolves around the theme of time itself, as symbolised by the eternal snake bezel and of course as personified by Father Time. The latter appears to be being warded off by Night who can also be compared with Astronomy, with her compass and globe. The standing female figure representing Study or L’Etude could also be identified with Clio, Muse of history who was often shown with a book in her hand, while the actual personification of History was often portrayed as a winged female in white robes who writes in a book or tablet – as seen either side of the lantern on the clock’s base. Galle, like Thomire was one of history’s finest bronziers and similarly so supplied work to the court of Louis XVI, the Imperial household as well as the cream of Parisian society and foreign clients. Having taken over his father in law’s business, Galle promptly moved to Quai de la Monnaie but from 1805 operated from 60 Rue Vivienne. 1786, the year in which he was received as a maitre-fondeur he gained the first of many commissions from the Garde-Meuble to furnish the royal palaces and was similarly patronised under Napoleon. His commissions included numerous light fittings, figural clock cases, vases and other fine bronze furnishings for Saint-Cloud, Les Trianons, Le Palais des Tuileries, Châteaux de Fontainebleau, Compiègne, Rambouillet and a number of the Italian palaces including Monte Cavallo, Rome and Stupinigi near Turin. Today his work can be found among the world’s finest collections including the Musée National de Chateau de Malmaison, the Musée Marmottan in Paris, the Museo de Reloges at Jerez de la Frontera, the Residenz Munich and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. |