Elephant clock in chased bronze, gilded or... - Lot 244 - Thierry de Maigret

Lot 244
Go to lot
Estimation :
15000 - 20000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 25 520EUR
Elephant clock in chased bronze, gilded or... - Lot 244 - Thierry de Maigret
Elephant clock in chased bronze, gilded or patinated; Cupid's damping holding a sundial with one hand and the gnomon with the other; the drum containing a movement supported by a barring elephant, the latter resting on a rocky terrace "au naturel" decorated around its perimeter with sticks, scrolls and volutes. The circular white enamelled dial, signed "Dupont à Paris" (as well as the movement), indicates the hours in Roman numerals and the minutes in Arabic numerals in increments of five (small fragments and an old restoration). Attributed to Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain. Louis XV period (old fixing holes; Brocot suspension). H: 50 - W: 40 - D: 16 cm The middle of the 18th century was a particularly fertile period for French decorative arts. Indeed, everything was done to witness the emergence of exceptional talents and to attract the best European artists and craftsmen of the time who wanted to work for the capital's great amateurs. The clock we propose was created in this particular context; its original composition, featuring an elephant barring on a rock base, was created around the middle of the 18th century by one of the best Parisian bronze makers of the time: Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain. Indeed, nowadays many identical models are known, often bearing the signature of the bronzer inscribed on the base and sometimes resting on musical boxes plated with horn or tortoiseshell, let us quote among the examples listed: two clocks which are illustrated in P. Kjellberg, Encyclopédie de la pendulum française du Moyen Age au XXe siècle, Paris, 1997, p.128a third one that was part of Dr. C.R.'s collection. Dreesmann (Christie's sale, London, 10 April 2002); a fourth appeared on the Art Market during the dispersion of Dimitri Mavrommatis' collections (Sotheby's sale, London, 8 July 2008, lot 17); a fifth was formerly in Count François de Salverte's collection (sale in Dijon, 30 November 1997, lot 26); a sixth, the dial of "Moisy à Paris", is illus
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue