A French gilt-bronze clock, probably retailed by Luigi Manfredini, circa 1820

Bonhams, Los Angeles, 30th March 2009, lot 1404.

This clock, designed as a grotto with a fountain—a staple of European garden architecture since the Renaissance—is signed "Manfredini Oroloro del Re A MILANO." The name Manfredini refers to the Mandfredini brothers: Francesco (d. 1810), Luigi (1771–1840), and Antonio, originating from Bologna and who specialised in the production of elaborate furniture and decorative arts in gilt-bronze. Their work used classical motifs derived from drawings mostly by Giocondo Albertolli, Pelagio Palagi and Domenico Moglia, as well as techniques similar to the celebrated French bronziers such as Thomire and Galle.

Very few examples signed by the Manfredinis have survived. A clock signed 'Manfredini Orolo.ro del Re a Milano', circa 1806-1814, is in the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, Venice (ill. E. Colle, Bronzi Decorativi in Italia, Milan, 2001, p. 289). The brothers’ famous tripod, believed to have been a gift from either Eugène de Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy or from the City of Milan to the Emperor Napoleon on the birth of his son (now in the Schatzkammmer at the Hofburg in Vienna) is signed 'inventato ed eseguito dai frli manfredini nella ra manifra della fontana nell'anno 1811".

A mantel clock after the same model was sold at Christie's, London, 26 Mars 2003, lot 89 with a dial signed ‘Albertyn a Paris’.

The Manfredini Brothers

After moving to Milan from Bologna in 1798, Luigi worked in the Mint and became head engraver in 1808 and he made a number of medals for the Emperor and established a reputation as the leading Italian medallist in the first half of the 19th century. As engraver for the Regia Zecca in Milan beginning in 1798, Luigi can perhaps be considered as the most influential of the three brothers and was appointed Professor dell’Arte della Medaglia at the Brera Accademia di Belle Arte, Milan, in 1801. Luigi went to Paris in 1804, and established a workshop known as the "Bigiottiere d'Indoratura dei metalli e d'orlogeria" around 1803-1804. 

In 1806-7, Francesco Manfredini established, with his two brothers Antonio and Luigi, the Manufacture Royale de Bronze de Fontana - the Fontana foundry - on the site of a former convent near the Porta Cosima, Milan. This was under the protection of the Viceroy, Eugène de Beauharnais (1781-1824), stepson of Napoleon Bonaparte. Here they produced bronze busts of Napoleon and reductions of sculptures by Canova as well as decorative pieces including clocks, tripods and surtouts de tables. Luigi Manfredini was in charge of the foundry.

The third brother, Antonio, followed the same path thanks to the patronage of Eugène de Beauharnais. Antonio went to Paris to promote Italian manufacturing and crafts abroad. Eugène de Beauharnais believed that by manufacturing jewels, enamels, and clocks in France, Antonio could improve Italian craftsmanship.

In 1823, Giovan Battista Viscardi (1791-1859) became partner in the manufactory by marrying Costanza, the daughter of Francesco Manfredini. In 1822, the manufactory thus began to be called ‘Luigi Manfredini and Company’ until 1858. During the years 1822/1823 until 1838, the commissions for small works remained high, however, simultaneously, a variety of pieces were commissioned by aristocrats. Furthermore, the manufactory was commissioned the decoration of the family Chapel in Bellagio, after a design by Giocondo Albertolli and it was during these years that the collaboration between Luigi Manfredini and the Bolonese architect Pelagio Palagi began.