A Louis XV gilt-bronze mantel clock, the case by Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain, the movement by Noël Balthazar dated 1755, the enamel by Antoine Nicolas Martinière
No reserve
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 EUR
Lot Details
Description
striking movement with silk suspension and numbered external counting wheel, signed on the backplate like the dial, the case decorated with scrolls, volutes and foliage, surmounted by a bouquet of flowers in an urn, decorated with a musical trophy in the lower part, the case signed St GERMAIN on top of the base, the enamel dial signed Noel Baltazar, A Paris and signed and dated to the reverse A.N. Martinere, P. du Roy, 25 …. 1755,
Haut. 46,5 cm, larg. 34,5 cm, prof. 20 cm ; Height 18 1/4 in., width 13 1/2 in., depth 7 7/8 in.
For similar clocks, see:
Tardy, Dictionnaire des horlogers français, Paris 1972, p 437,
H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, vol II, Munich, 1986, fig 2.8.15, p 128.
P. Verlet, Les Bronzes Dorés Français du XVIIIème siècle, Cahors, 1987, p.112, fig. 135 and 290.
J-D. Augarde, « Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain, Bronzier », L'Estampille, december 1996, pp. 63-82
P. Kjellberg, Encyclopédie de la pendule française du Moyen Âge au XXe siècle, Paris, 1997, p 111
D. Alcouffe, A.Dion, G.Mabille, Les bronzes d'ameublement du Louvre, Dijon, 2004, n°35, p 82
Other models of this clock by St Germain are known, such as the one in the Louvre Museum in Paris, formerly in the Duchâtel collection; Baron Basile de Schlichting Collection (inv. OA 6884).
Jean-Joseph de St Germain
After working as a journeyman, Saint Germain became a maître-fondeur (master founder) on July 15, 1748. In 1765, he was elected a juror of the Bronze Founders' Guild for two years and, in this capacity, actively campaigned for the resolution on bronze founders' copyright, which was finally ratified on April 21, 1766. Owner of a cabinet of curiosities, his interests focused on the natural sciences, particularly botany and mineralogy.
Noël Balthazar
Master clockmaker in 1717, Noël Balthazar enjoyed a distinguished career spanning over 70 years, being appointed Clockmaker to the Ladies in 1769. J.-D. Augarde notes that between 1769 and 1786, he maintained a permanent stock of remarkable pieces valued at approximately £8,000. The Waddesdon Collection in Buckinghamshire possesses a splendid clock by his hand, while other examples of his work are held in the Louvre Museum in Paris, the National Museum in Poznań, Frederiksborg Castle, and the Museum of Industrial Art in Milan.
Antoine-Nicolas Martinière
Born into a family of enamellers, Antoine-Nicolas Martinière became a master craftsman in 1720. In 1741, he was appointed Emailleur et Pensionnaire du Roi, for whom he created a magnificent perpetual almanac, now in the Wallace Collection in London (inv. F66). He regularly collaborated with clockmakers Jean-Baptiste III Albert Baillon, Etienne Le Noir, and Jean-Baptiste Gosselin, as well as with the bronze caster Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain, as seen here with our mantel clock.