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Lot Essay
This birdcage-clock belongs to a well-defined group attributed to the Swiss clock and automaton maker Pierre Jacquet-Droz (1721-1790).
Distinctive features common to the group include the use of tapered columns with urn capitals, delicately pierced sides, niches in the base incorporating porcelain figures and oval enamel plaques, probably of Swiss manufacture, framed by swagged ormolu mounts, on claw-and-ball feet. The group is discussed by G. de Bellaigue in The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Furniture and Gilt Bronzes, Fribourg, 1974, vol. I, pp. 164-9, cat. 34.
A closely related birdcage hanging clock with a simulated fountain and decorated with similar enamel plaques and scrolling mounts was sold at Ader Picard Tajan, 18 March 1981, lot 225. It also features niches which are flanked by virtually the same columns but are filled with ormolu vases.
Other examples of this group include the following:
- one in the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris; a pair in the Musée du Serail, Istanbul, originally a gift to Sultan Selim II (reigned 1761-1808); one in the British Museum, the gift of E.J. Dingwall, 1968; one in a private collection (illustrated in Connaissance des Arts, Le Dix-Huitième Siècle Français, Paris, 1956, p. 120, fig. A); one formerly in the collection of Madame Hallé, Neuilly-sur- Seine, (illustrated in A. Chapuis and E. Gélis, Le Monde des Automates, Paris, 1928, vol. II, p. 134, fig. 408); one formerly in the collection of Mrs. James A. de Rothschild, sold Christie's London, 20 June 1972, lot 68; one sold from a private collection, Sotheby's Monaco, 26-7 May 1985, lot 1228; one sold Christie's, New York, October 23, 1998, lot 23; are sold Christie's, London, 14 December 2000, lot 36.
The concept of an automaton imitating live birdsong was evidently a popular one in fashionable circles, and as early as 1754, the duc de Cry recorded in his diary 'Je vis avec plaisir une pendule de la Marquise [de Pompadour] avec un serin sifflant plusieurs airs, faite avec soin'.
The firm of Pierre Jacquet-Droz, which specialized in these charming birdcage clocks, was originally established at La Chaux-de-Fonds and later at Geneva. It was continued by his son Henri-Louis (1752-1791) and carried on under various owners until 1835.
Distinctive features common to the group include the use of tapered columns with urn capitals, delicately pierced sides, niches in the base incorporating porcelain figures and oval enamel plaques, probably of Swiss manufacture, framed by swagged ormolu mounts, on claw-and-ball feet. The group is discussed by G. de Bellaigue in The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor, Furniture and Gilt Bronzes, Fribourg, 1974, vol. I, pp. 164-9, cat. 34.
A closely related birdcage hanging clock with a simulated fountain and decorated with similar enamel plaques and scrolling mounts was sold at Ader Picard Tajan, 18 March 1981, lot 225. It also features niches which are flanked by virtually the same columns but are filled with ormolu vases.
Other examples of this group include the following:
- one in the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris; a pair in the Musée du Serail, Istanbul, originally a gift to Sultan Selim II (reigned 1761-1808); one in the British Museum, the gift of E.J. Dingwall, 1968; one in a private collection (illustrated in Connaissance des Arts, Le Dix-Huitième Siècle Français, Paris, 1956, p. 120, fig. A); one formerly in the collection of Madame Hallé, Neuilly-sur- Seine, (illustrated in A. Chapuis and E. Gélis, Le Monde des Automates, Paris, 1928, vol. II, p. 134, fig. 408); one formerly in the collection of Mrs. James A. de Rothschild, sold Christie's London, 20 June 1972, lot 68; one sold from a private collection, Sotheby's Monaco, 26-7 May 1985, lot 1228; one sold Christie's, New York, October 23, 1998, lot 23; are sold Christie's, London, 14 December 2000, lot 36.
The concept of an automaton imitating live birdsong was evidently a popular one in fashionable circles, and as early as 1754, the duc de Cry recorded in his diary 'Je vis avec plaisir une pendule de la Marquise [de Pompadour] avec un serin sifflant plusieurs airs, faite avec soin'.
The firm of Pierre Jacquet-Droz, which specialized in these charming birdcage clocks, was originally established at La Chaux-de-Fonds and later at Geneva. It was continued by his son Henri-Louis (1752-1791) and carried on under various owners until 1835.