Lot Essay
The horloger Pienot is recorded at rue des Fosss Montmartre in 1830.
The design of the putto backplate is closely related to that which features on the four pairs of wall-lights supplied by Thomire-Duterme to the Palais de Fontainebleau in 1809, as well to those supplied by Ravrio to the Grand Trianon in 1813 (J.-P. Samoyault, Pendules et Bronzes d'ameublement entrs sous le Premier Empire, Paris, 1989, p. 140, no.122 and D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le Grand Trianon, Paris, 175, p. 150). The existence of two documented examples by rival fondeurs makes any attribution somewhat complex and the survival of a drawing for a closely related wall-light in the muse des Arts Dcoratifs (CD3769), although attributed to Ravrio, does not shed any conclusive light, as it is unsigned.
Further wall-lights of this model include a pair at the chteau de Grand-Vaux, a further pair of ten-branch examples in the Salon Rose of the htel Beauharnais, and a final pair sold anonymously at Christie's London, 10 December 1992, lot 141.
The design of the putto backplate is closely related to that which features on the four pairs of wall-lights supplied by Thomire-Duterme to the Palais de Fontainebleau in 1809, as well to those supplied by Ravrio to the Grand Trianon in 1813 (J.-P. Samoyault, Pendules et Bronzes d'ameublement entrs sous le Premier Empire, Paris, 1989, p. 140, no.122 and D. Ledoux-Lebard, Le Grand Trianon, Paris, 175, p. 150). The existence of two documented examples by rival fondeurs makes any attribution somewhat complex and the survival of a drawing for a closely related wall-light in the muse des Arts Dcoratifs (CD3769), although attributed to Ravrio, does not shed any conclusive light, as it is unsigned.
Further wall-lights of this model include a pair at the chteau de Grand-Vaux, a further pair of ten-branch examples in the Salon Rose of the htel Beauharnais, and a final pair sold anonymously at Christie's London, 10 December 1992, lot 141.