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Lot Essay
Ferdinand Berthoud, matre in 1754
The impressive model of this clock conceived in the elegant got grec was almost certainly first executed by Robert Osmond. Matre-fondeur en terre et sable from 1746 and appointed jur des fondeurs in 1756, Osmond often signed his pieces. Influenced by his close friends--the sculptors and bronziers the brothers Caffieri--Osmond was one of the first to interpret the new neoclassical style. His work was much in demand among sophisticated collectors and aristocratic patrons.
Several clocks of this model are recorded in the eighteenth century. The first, with a movement signed by Julien Le Roy, was purchased by the celebrated collector and arbiter of taste Ange-Laurent Lalive de July (1725-1779) around 1764. It is described in the sale of his collection on 5 March 1770, standing on the cartonnier of the bureau plat now at Chantilly:"il y a dessus une pendule en forme de vase, dont le mouvement est de Julien Le Roi". That clock was subsequently sold at Christie's London, 7 December 1995, lot 79.
In 1777 another clock of this model is recorded in the inventory of the duc de La Vrilliere's htel particulier in the Place de la Concorde. The third example is recorded in 1787 in the Palais de l'Elyse, at that date occupied by Nicolas Beaujon, banquier de la Cour and now the rsidence of the French President. The clockmaker Robin supplied the movement for a clock acquired by the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne and in 1788 is recorded in the bedroom of Madame Thierry de Ville d'Avray, wife of the Intendant du Garde-Meuble (illustrated in J.-D. Augarde, Les Ouvriers du Temps, Geneva, 1996, p. 255, fig. 200).
Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807) was a highly respected clockmaker in the eighteenth century. He was a member of numerous organizations including a commission to establish a Royal Clock Factory in Paris (1786) and the Temporary Commission for the Arts (1793) as well as the Royal Society of London (1764). His particular specialty was the study of marine clocks and the science of clock movement. In recognition of his talents he was commissioned to design a clock for the King's Council Chamber at Versailles. And from 1766 he designed all marine clocks and watches used on the King's ships. Berthoud wrote numerous scientific articles and treatises including several articles on clockmaking that he contributed to Diderot's Encyclopdie.
The impressive model of this clock conceived in the elegant got grec was almost certainly first executed by Robert Osmond. Matre-fondeur en terre et sable from 1746 and appointed jur des fondeurs in 1756, Osmond often signed his pieces. Influenced by his close friends--the sculptors and bronziers the brothers Caffieri--Osmond was one of the first to interpret the new neoclassical style. His work was much in demand among sophisticated collectors and aristocratic patrons.
Several clocks of this model are recorded in the eighteenth century. The first, with a movement signed by Julien Le Roy, was purchased by the celebrated collector and arbiter of taste Ange-Laurent Lalive de July (1725-1779) around 1764. It is described in the sale of his collection on 5 March 1770, standing on the cartonnier of the bureau plat now at Chantilly:"il y a dessus une pendule en forme de vase, dont le mouvement est de Julien Le Roi". That clock was subsequently sold at Christie's London, 7 December 1995, lot 79.
In 1777 another clock of this model is recorded in the inventory of the duc de La Vrilliere's htel particulier in the Place de la Concorde. The third example is recorded in 1787 in the Palais de l'Elyse, at that date occupied by Nicolas Beaujon, banquier de la Cour and now the rsidence of the French President. The clockmaker Robin supplied the movement for a clock acquired by the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne and in 1788 is recorded in the bedroom of Madame Thierry de Ville d'Avray, wife of the Intendant du Garde-Meuble (illustrated in J.-D. Augarde, Les Ouvriers du Temps, Geneva, 1996, p. 255, fig. 200).
Ferdinand Berthoud (1727-1807) was a highly respected clockmaker in the eighteenth century. He was a member of numerous organizations including a commission to establish a Royal Clock Factory in Paris (1786) and the Temporary Commission for the Arts (1793) as well as the Royal Society of London (1764). His particular specialty was the study of marine clocks and the science of clock movement. In recognition of his talents he was commissioned to design a clock for the King's Council Chamber at Versailles. And from 1766 he designed all marine clocks and watches used on the King's ships. Berthoud wrote numerous scientific articles and treatises including several articles on clockmaking that he contributed to Diderot's Encyclopdie.