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Lot Essay
The present clock and its en suite candelabra may be attributed to the Denière manufactory on the basis of a preparatory drawing for a clock by the eighteenth-century designer Jean-François Forty (illustrated inset and in L. Tardy, French Clocks the World Over, Paris, 1981, vol. II, p. 86) which by the nineteenth century was in the collection of Denière. It is known that the bronzier made a number of copies of the clock from this drawing and the present lot, with its refined neoclassical design and exquisitely chased mounts, is likely such an example. Another clock of slightly different proportions by an unidentified maker is illustrated in H. Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel et al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 427, fig. 6.13.17. However, the close resemblance of the present lot to Forty’s drawing reinforce its ties to the famed manufactory, whose work was of the highest order.
In his Cahier de six Pendules à l'usage des Fondeurs, circa 1770, a progression in Forty's design for the present clock can be seen; commencing in preparatory sketches of a modest design with simplified vase-form clock case and ultimately flourishing into a profusion of decoration, complete with elaborate base and portrait medallion.
In his Cahier de six Pendules à l'usage des Fondeurs, circa 1770, a progression in Forty's design for the present clock can be seen; commencing in preparatory sketches of a modest design with simplified vase-form clock case and ultimately flourishing into a profusion of decoration, complete with elaborate base and portrait medallion.