Page 53 - catalogue 2018
P. 53
Air OF lOUiS XiV lAcQUErED BrOnzE-MOUnTED
BrASS AnD STAinED HOrn inlAiD TOrTOiSESHEll AnD
EBOnY PEDESTAlS - circA 1710
Height: 150 cm (59 in.) Width: 49 cm (19 ¼ in.) Depth: 30 cm (11 ¾ in.)
The pedestals are veneered with panels of première partie and contre partie boulle marquetry
representing complex scrolling arabesques interspersed with grotesque masks, vases and fans.
The contre partie panels are highlighted with polychrome motifs in stained horn.
Each pedestal is of square tapering form with a recessed platform framed with a brass moulded
border above a projecting ebony veneered panel mounted with a female mask surmounted by
lambrequins and flaked by scrolling foliage. The concave-sided ebony bases are mounted with
gilt bronze foliate sprays and rest on rectangular plinths and later moulded feet.
These pedestals were almost certainly made in one of the Parisian ateliers that grew up around
the work of André-charles Boulle in the beginning of the 18th century. Frequently the
marquetry was created by specialist workshops. The decoration of the present pieces is closest
to that found on a group of sumptuous armoires: one at Versailles, one in the Musée du louvre
and one sold from the collection of the Earl of rosebery at Mentmore Towers by Sotheby’s in
1977 (illustrated and discussed in Pierre Grand, ‘le mobilier Boulle et les ateliers de l’époque’,
L’Estampille/L’Objet d’Art, February, 2003, pp. 48-70, figs. 10-13).
A DirEcTOirE GilT BrOnzE “SPAniEl” MAnTEl clOcK –
circA 1795
The dial with indications of the days of the month signed Drouot à Paris and the enamel signed by
the enameller G. Merlet
Height: 44.5 cm. (17 ½ in.) Width: 45.5 cm. (18 in.) Depth: 10 cm. (4 in.)
cOMPArATiVE liTErATUrE:
Several examples entirely in gilt bronze are known:
Pavlovsk Palace, russia, the dial signed L. J. Laguesse
Formerly in the Alexander collection, sold christie’s, new York, 30 April 1999, lot 166, the dial
signed à Paris
With Partridge, london, illustrated in the 1992 catalogue, no. 29, the dial signed Le Paute à
Paris
An example in gilt bronze and white marble is illustrated in Pierre Kjellberg, Encyclopédie de la
Pendule Française, Paris, les Editions de l’Amateur, 1997, pp. 278 and 279B, the dial signed
Cronier à Paris
47
BrASS AnD STAinED HOrn inlAiD TOrTOiSESHEll AnD
EBOnY PEDESTAlS - circA 1710
Height: 150 cm (59 in.) Width: 49 cm (19 ¼ in.) Depth: 30 cm (11 ¾ in.)
The pedestals are veneered with panels of première partie and contre partie boulle marquetry
representing complex scrolling arabesques interspersed with grotesque masks, vases and fans.
The contre partie panels are highlighted with polychrome motifs in stained horn.
Each pedestal is of square tapering form with a recessed platform framed with a brass moulded
border above a projecting ebony veneered panel mounted with a female mask surmounted by
lambrequins and flaked by scrolling foliage. The concave-sided ebony bases are mounted with
gilt bronze foliate sprays and rest on rectangular plinths and later moulded feet.
These pedestals were almost certainly made in one of the Parisian ateliers that grew up around
the work of André-charles Boulle in the beginning of the 18th century. Frequently the
marquetry was created by specialist workshops. The decoration of the present pieces is closest
to that found on a group of sumptuous armoires: one at Versailles, one in the Musée du louvre
and one sold from the collection of the Earl of rosebery at Mentmore Towers by Sotheby’s in
1977 (illustrated and discussed in Pierre Grand, ‘le mobilier Boulle et les ateliers de l’époque’,
L’Estampille/L’Objet d’Art, February, 2003, pp. 48-70, figs. 10-13).
A DirEcTOirE GilT BrOnzE “SPAniEl” MAnTEl clOcK –
circA 1795
The dial with indications of the days of the month signed Drouot à Paris and the enamel signed by
the enameller G. Merlet
Height: 44.5 cm. (17 ½ in.) Width: 45.5 cm. (18 in.) Depth: 10 cm. (4 in.)
cOMPArATiVE liTErATUrE:
Several examples entirely in gilt bronze are known:
Pavlovsk Palace, russia, the dial signed L. J. Laguesse
Formerly in the Alexander collection, sold christie’s, new York, 30 April 1999, lot 166, the dial
signed à Paris
With Partridge, london, illustrated in the 1992 catalogue, no. 29, the dial signed Le Paute à
Paris
An example in gilt bronze and white marble is illustrated in Pierre Kjellberg, Encyclopédie de la
Pendule Française, Paris, les Editions de l’Amateur, 1997, pp. 278 and 279B, the dial signed
Cronier à Paris
47
