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Lot Essay
This magnificent clock, with its superbly cast and chased bronzes depicting three putti suspended in clouds surrounded by symbols of love such as Cupid’s quiver and arrows and paired lovebirds, follows almost exactly a design attributed to the ornemaniste Louis-Félix de La Rue (1730-1777) of circa 1775, now conserved in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, and illustrated here (see also H. Ottomeyer & P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 251, fig. 4.6.23).
Two other versions of this impressive model are known, with minor variations:
-one by the horloger Robin sold from the collection of Akram Ojjeh (formerly in the Lambert Rothschild collection); Sotheby’s, Monaco, 25-26 June 1979, lot 140, but of smaller proportions (20 inches high, the width was not recorded) and with the addition of a dog between the two putti at the top
-one formerly in the collection of Lionel de Rothschild sold from the collection of A. Gifford-Scott; Sotheby’s, London, 19 May 1972, lot 28 (the movement unsigned).
The two putti playing with a dog also feature at the top of a cartonnier with a bureau plat by Riesener in the Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor (see G. de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor; Furniture and Gilt Bronzes, Fribourg, 1974, vol. I, pp. 438-9) and above the central clock on the celebrated bureau du roi by Riesener at Versailles (see D. Meyer, Versailles Furniture at the Royal Palace 17th and 18th Centuries, Dijon, 2002, p. 122, cat. 33).
ROYAL PROVENANCE ?
A clock by Lepaute, which follows almost exactly the description of the example offered here (although no measurements are given), features in the 1846 sale of the collection of ‘Lord Wellesley, Comte de Mornington’ which took place at the Château d’Ixelles near Brussels, Belgium. The catalogue entry, reproduced here, describes all the symbols of love which feature on this clock, including the quiver and arrows and the two loving doves (‘tourtereaux’) on the left-hand side. Lord Wellesley almost certainly refers to William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 4th Earl of Mornington (1788 –1857), who succeeded as Earl of Mornington in 1845 when he inherited the title from his father, elder brother of Arthur Wellesley, Ist Duke of Wellington. Lord Wellesley led a colourful and extravagant life, fueled by his marriage in 1812 to Catherine Long (d. 1825), heiress to the magnificent Wanstead House with its fabled collection of furniture and paintings and rumored to be the richest commoner in England. In 1814 he held a lavish celebration for his uncle’s victory at Waterloo for over 1,000 guests including the Prince Regent and other members of the royal family. With his debts mounting he was forced to sell the contents of Wanstead in 1822 in a celebrated sale held over thirty-one days but still subsequently had to flee to Europe to escape his creditors, living for a while in Brussels, which presumably led to the sale in 1846.
The last line of the description in the Ixelles catalogue tantalizingly indicates that the clock came from the ‘cour de Louis XVI’. Although auction catalogues in this period were of course prone to hyperbole in suggesting pieces were of royal provenance, it is pertinent to note a clock by Lepaute in the collection of Queen Marie-Antoinette described in a 1793 inventory of her clocks drawn up by the horloger Robin as follows:
1. Une pendule composée d’un socle de marbre blanc orné d’un bas-relief sur lequel sont groupés avec nuage et guirlandes trois gros amours entourant le mouvement, qui est à seconde, sonnant les heures, les demies, le tout doré en or mat, du nom de Le Paute .
À Versailles, était dans le salon de jeu, 2 pds 6 po. de haut, sur 1 pd 8 po. de large
The only variation is in the measurements of the Queen’s clock, which convert to close to 29 inches high and 21 inches wide (as opposed to this example which is 26 inches high and 26 inches wide). However, it is certainly possibly that the measurements in the 1793 inventory were mistakenly entered- given the superb quality of this clock and the tantalizing reference in the 1846 sale, it would not be surprising to discover that it was made for the royal court- particularly as it is the only recorded example of this model by Lepaute.
Two other versions of this impressive model are known, with minor variations:
-one by the horloger Robin sold from the collection of Akram Ojjeh (formerly in the Lambert Rothschild collection); Sotheby’s, Monaco, 25-26 June 1979, lot 140, but of smaller proportions (20 inches high, the width was not recorded) and with the addition of a dog between the two putti at the top
-one formerly in the collection of Lionel de Rothschild sold from the collection of A. Gifford-Scott; Sotheby’s, London, 19 May 1972, lot 28 (the movement unsigned).
The two putti playing with a dog also feature at the top of a cartonnier with a bureau plat by Riesener in the Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor (see G. de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor; Furniture and Gilt Bronzes, Fribourg, 1974, vol. I, pp. 438-9) and above the central clock on the celebrated bureau du roi by Riesener at Versailles (see D. Meyer, Versailles Furniture at the Royal Palace 17th and 18th Centuries, Dijon, 2002, p. 122, cat. 33).
ROYAL PROVENANCE ?
A clock by Lepaute, which follows almost exactly the description of the example offered here (although no measurements are given), features in the 1846 sale of the collection of ‘Lord Wellesley, Comte de Mornington’ which took place at the Château d’Ixelles near Brussels, Belgium. The catalogue entry, reproduced here, describes all the symbols of love which feature on this clock, including the quiver and arrows and the two loving doves (‘tourtereaux’) on the left-hand side. Lord Wellesley almost certainly refers to William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 4th Earl of Mornington (1788 –1857), who succeeded as Earl of Mornington in 1845 when he inherited the title from his father, elder brother of Arthur Wellesley, Ist Duke of Wellington. Lord Wellesley led a colourful and extravagant life, fueled by his marriage in 1812 to Catherine Long (d. 1825), heiress to the magnificent Wanstead House with its fabled collection of furniture and paintings and rumored to be the richest commoner in England. In 1814 he held a lavish celebration for his uncle’s victory at Waterloo for over 1,000 guests including the Prince Regent and other members of the royal family. With his debts mounting he was forced to sell the contents of Wanstead in 1822 in a celebrated sale held over thirty-one days but still subsequently had to flee to Europe to escape his creditors, living for a while in Brussels, which presumably led to the sale in 1846.
The last line of the description in the Ixelles catalogue tantalizingly indicates that the clock came from the ‘cour de Louis XVI’. Although auction catalogues in this period were of course prone to hyperbole in suggesting pieces were of royal provenance, it is pertinent to note a clock by Lepaute in the collection of Queen Marie-Antoinette described in a 1793 inventory of her clocks drawn up by the horloger Robin as follows:
1. Une pendule composée d’un socle de marbre blanc orné d’un bas-relief sur lequel sont groupés avec nuage et guirlandes trois gros amours entourant le mouvement, qui est à seconde, sonnant les heures, les demies, le tout doré en or mat, du nom de Le Paute .
À Versailles, était dans le salon de jeu, 2 pds 6 po. de haut, sur 1 pd 8 po. de large
The only variation is in the measurements of the Queen’s clock, which convert to close to 29 inches high and 21 inches wide (as opposed to this example which is 26 inches high and 26 inches wide). However, it is certainly possibly that the measurements in the 1793 inventory were mistakenly entered- given the superb quality of this clock and the tantalizing reference in the 1846 sale, it would not be surprising to discover that it was made for the royal court- particularly as it is the only recorded example of this model by Lepaute.