Table clock; c. 1820.
Mercury gilded and chiseled... Lot 31
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Table clock; c. 1820.
Mercury gilded and chiseled bronze.
It has slight wear in gilding and one of the figures is not consolidated. One of the front applications and the back cover are missing.
It needs restoration.
Preserves pendulum.
Signed Mme Gentilhomme à Paris on the dial.
Measurements: 42 x 30 x 12,5 cm.
Desk clock made of mercury gilded bronze. It is a piece of sculptural conception supported on four conical legs that gives way to a volumetric base of geometric shapes, recessed at the corners and ornamented with appliques in relief; a border with a portrait in profile in each of the corners and a garland in the center. The base gives way to the sculptural set in round bulk that is limited by a structure of architectural inspiration flanked with a caryatid inspired by the Egyptian world and located on each side. Finally, this structure ends in a pediment where the round base clock case with Roman numerals in black is located. There is a similar model in the Nationalmuseum of Stockholm (Inv: NMK 50/2021) through which it is known that the scene represents Marie Caroline, Duchess of Berry, with her newborn son Henri, Duke of Bordeaux and her daughter Louis, praying before going to sleep. The model was conceived by Jean André Reiche (1752-1817) who established his own foundry in Paris in 1785.
The dial of the watch bears the signature "Mme Gentilhomme à Paris", the pseudonym of Louise Admirat (1759-1829). This signature, which has long been unknown or erroneously attributed, is that of Louise Admirat (Besse 1759-Paris 1829), one of the few women watchmakers working in Paris during the first quarter of the 19th century. On 15 Ventose, year III of the revolutionary calendar, she married Jean-François Gentilhomme, a goldsmith's merchant. Madame Gentilhomme seems to have developed her activity during a period of about fifteen years, from 1805 to 1820. She was known to have worked with some of the most influential collectors of the time. The probate inventory of Anne-Joseph-Thibault, Count of Montmorency-Fosseux, Marshal of the King's camps and armies, made in January 1819, mentions "...a clock with the name Gentilhomme à Paris, with gilt dial, in an alabaster case surmounted by a vase..., which was in one of the bedrooms of the Count's house in Paris."
It has slight wear in gold and one of the figures is not consolidated. One of the front applications and the back cover are missing.
It needs restoration.
Preserves pendulum.
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