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Lot Essay
The figure of the elephant is thought to have been derived from a Kakiemon porcelain model, an example of which is at Burghley House, Lincolnshire (see exh. cat. 'Porcelain from Palaces', London, 1990, p. 178, no. 160), which were subsequently copied at the St. Cloud manufactory. Although elephants had been celebrated in the West since antiquity, the fashion for such exotic animals in France was particularly encouraged by the gift in 1686 of a whole menagerie to Louis XIV from the ambassador of the King of Siam. This gift included an elephant, a tiger and a lion, and such beasts soon appeared in products as diverse as Gobelins tapestries and Meissen porcelain. Draughtsmen and ornamentistes routinely produced, copied and plagiarised popular subjects in response to changing tastes and current events.
Clocks with almost identical cases and bases are illustrated in H.Ottomeyer P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, p. 123, fig. 2.8.3; E. Niehüser, French Bronze Clocks, 1700-1830, Atglen, 1999, p. 239, cat. 885 and Tardy, French Clocks, Paris, 1971, vol. I, p. 285, mounted on a musical box.
Julien Le Roy (1686-1759), received his maîtrise in 1713 after being apprenticed to Charles Lebon. He was honored by being the only clock maker to be accepted as a member of the prestigious société des Arts where he was elected as president before 1723. In 1739 he was further distinguished by being named a valet de chambre du Roi and given lodgings at the Louvre. He often collaborated with important bronziers.
The bronzier Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain (1719-1791) is most celebrated for his rococo mounts, for which he himself provided the designs. Elected as a maître-fondeur on 15 July 1748, Saint-Germain enjoyed the privilege of an ouvrier libre - enabling him to act both as an ébéniste and bronzier. He frequently supplied cases cast with animal forms and allegorical figures to the leading clockmakers of Paris, including the le Roy workshops.
Clocks with almost identical cases and bases are illustrated in H.Ottomeyer P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, p. 123, fig. 2.8.3; E. Niehüser, French Bronze Clocks, 1700-1830, Atglen, 1999, p. 239, cat. 885 and Tardy, French Clocks, Paris, 1971, vol. I, p. 285, mounted on a musical box.
Julien Le Roy (1686-1759), received his maîtrise in 1713 after being apprenticed to Charles Lebon. He was honored by being the only clock maker to be accepted as a member of the prestigious société des Arts where he was elected as president before 1723. In 1739 he was further distinguished by being named a valet de chambre du Roi and given lodgings at the Louvre. He often collaborated with important bronziers.
The bronzier Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain (1719-1791) is most celebrated for his rococo mounts, for which he himself provided the designs. Elected as a maître-fondeur on 15 July 1748, Saint-Germain enjoyed the privilege of an ouvrier libre - enabling him to act both as an ébéniste and bronzier. He frequently supplied cases cast with animal forms and allegorical figures to the leading clockmakers of Paris, including the le Roy workshops.