拍品專文
Louis Moinet, the secretary of Abraham Louis Breguet, was established in the rue de la Poterie 1806-20 and in the rue des Barres until 1830
Pierre-Philippe Thomire (d. 1843), maître in 1772.
Conceived 'au goût Egyptien', this pylon-shaped clock with serpent-entwined bezel, emblematic of Eternity, bacchic ram's head frieze and arabesque griffin-monopodia, is closely-related to the architect Charles Percier's 1798 design in the Musée des Beaux Arts, Paris (74-73, 375). However, while Percier's design framed a bas-relief of Paris and Helen of Troy after Jacques-Louis David's 1786 painting, this malachite-veneered clock incorporates an 'antique' cameo depicting Livia Drusilla Octaviani, emblematic of the Virtue of Pietas.
This cameo almost certainly formed part of the celebrated surtout de table given by King Carlos IV of Spain to the Emperor Napoleon at Bayonne, in a futile attempt to appease the proud conqueror. Executed in the Buen Retiro workshops in the 1790s, this surtout de table was composed of a large 'plateau' approximately six metres in length, embellished overall with decorative elements such as porticos, temples and fountains and functional elements such as candelabra, bottle-holders and sugar-bowls. Made largely of a type of alabaster with pale mother-of-pearl tints, it was enriched with jasper, amethysts and cameos and mounted in gilt-bronze by Giovanni Battista Ferroni. Napoleon's gift was consequently dispatched to Versailles and assembled there by technicians sent especially by Carlos IV. Unfortunately, however, it failed to elicit a favourable response from the Imperial Court and was heavily critised - 'les formes étant de très mauvais goût et les décorations mal exécutées' (A-M. Giusti, Pietre Dure, London, 1992, p. 253)
As a result, the ensemble was dismantled and its components distributed among Napoleon's residences. Most importantly, it was deprived of its cameo's and these were entrusted to the bronzier Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843) for re-use. Two closely related clocks, one in green marble and the other in gilt-bronze, were delivered by Lepaute in 1810 for the premier salon and chambre du petit appartement de l'Empereur at the château de Fontainebleau. The latter, whose case is stamped THOMIRE, is described in the inventory of 20 March 1811 as 'une pendule en bronze forme d'autel décorées d'ornements encadrant des cammées venant du surtout de l'Empereur' (J.P. Samoyault, Pendules et bronzes d'ameublement entrés sous le Premier Empire, Paris, 1989, no. 45-6, pp. 79-80).
A related vase-capped clock in biscuit de Sèvres with gilt highlights is illustrated in Tardy, La Pendule Française, 2ème partie, Paris, 1369
NICOLAS DEMIDOFF
This Egyptian clock is closely related in character to the goût expounded by Nicolas Demidoff (d. 1828). The heir to the fabulous Demidoff fortune, founded on their appointment as suppliers of weaponry to the Russian Imperial armies and further augmented by the exploitation of their silver and mineral mines, particularly malachite, in the Urals, Demidoff moved to Paris following the defeat of Napoleon. However, as early as 1806, he commissioned the Parisian goldsmith Henri Auguste (d. 1816) to supply a malachite-topped guéridon-table (now in the Museo Stibbert, Florence) and, following his move to Rome in 1819 he ordered the ciseleur Pierre-Philippe Thomire to mount an enormous malachite vase (now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York), as well as to supply a two metre-long console table with legs in the form of Nike, which he gave to Grand Duke Leopoldo II of Florence (now in the Pitti Palace, Florence). The combination of 'antique' cameo, malachite and gilt-bronze mounts executed by Thomire would seem to suggest the possibility that this clock may have been commissioned acquired by Demidoff for his villa at San Donato, Florence (F. Haskell et al, 'Anatol Demidoff, Prince of San Donato (1812-70)', Exhibition Catalogue, London, 1994)
Pierre-Philippe Thomire (d. 1843), maître in 1772.
Conceived 'au goût Egyptien', this pylon-shaped clock with serpent-entwined bezel, emblematic of Eternity, bacchic ram's head frieze and arabesque griffin-monopodia, is closely-related to the architect Charles Percier's 1798 design in the Musée des Beaux Arts, Paris (74-73, 375). However, while Percier's design framed a bas-relief of Paris and Helen of Troy after Jacques-Louis David's 1786 painting, this malachite-veneered clock incorporates an 'antique' cameo depicting Livia Drusilla Octaviani, emblematic of the Virtue of Pietas.
This cameo almost certainly formed part of the celebrated surtout de table given by King Carlos IV of Spain to the Emperor Napoleon at Bayonne, in a futile attempt to appease the proud conqueror. Executed in the Buen Retiro workshops in the 1790s, this surtout de table was composed of a large 'plateau' approximately six metres in length, embellished overall with decorative elements such as porticos, temples and fountains and functional elements such as candelabra, bottle-holders and sugar-bowls. Made largely of a type of alabaster with pale mother-of-pearl tints, it was enriched with jasper, amethysts and cameos and mounted in gilt-bronze by Giovanni Battista Ferroni. Napoleon's gift was consequently dispatched to Versailles and assembled there by technicians sent especially by Carlos IV. Unfortunately, however, it failed to elicit a favourable response from the Imperial Court and was heavily critised - 'les formes étant de très mauvais goût et les décorations mal exécutées' (A-M. Giusti, Pietre Dure, London, 1992, p. 253)
As a result, the ensemble was dismantled and its components distributed among Napoleon's residences. Most importantly, it was deprived of its cameo's and these were entrusted to the bronzier Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843) for re-use. Two closely related clocks, one in green marble and the other in gilt-bronze, were delivered by Lepaute in 1810 for the premier salon and chambre du petit appartement de l'Empereur at the château de Fontainebleau. The latter, whose case is stamped THOMIRE, is described in the inventory of 20 March 1811 as 'une pendule en bronze forme d'autel décorées d'ornements encadrant des cammées venant du surtout de l'Empereur' (J.P. Samoyault, Pendules et bronzes d'ameublement entrés sous le Premier Empire, Paris, 1989, no. 45-6, pp. 79-80).
A related vase-capped clock in biscuit de Sèvres with gilt highlights is illustrated in Tardy, La Pendule Française, 2ème partie, Paris, 1369
NICOLAS DEMIDOFF
This Egyptian clock is closely related in character to the goût expounded by Nicolas Demidoff (d. 1828). The heir to the fabulous Demidoff fortune, founded on their appointment as suppliers of weaponry to the Russian Imperial armies and further augmented by the exploitation of their silver and mineral mines, particularly malachite, in the Urals, Demidoff moved to Paris following the defeat of Napoleon. However, as early as 1806, he commissioned the Parisian goldsmith Henri Auguste (d. 1816) to supply a malachite-topped guéridon-table (now in the Museo Stibbert, Florence) and, following his move to Rome in 1819 he ordered the ciseleur Pierre-Philippe Thomire to mount an enormous malachite vase (now in the Metropolitan Museum, New York), as well as to supply a two metre-long console table with legs in the form of Nike, which he gave to Grand Duke Leopoldo II of Florence (now in the Pitti Palace, Florence). The combination of 'antique' cameo, malachite and gilt-bronze mounts executed by Thomire would seem to suggest the possibility that this clock may have been commissioned acquired by Demidoff for his villa at San Donato, Florence (F. Haskell et al, 'Anatol Demidoff, Prince of San Donato (1812-70)', Exhibition Catalogue, London, 1994)