A large Louis XV style ormolu mantel clock

AFTER THE MODEL BY EDMÉ JEAN GALLIEN, THIRD QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

Details

A large Louis XV style ormolu mantel clock
After the model by Edmé Jean Gallien, Third quarter 19th Century
Surmounted by a putto with wreath and horn, the circular dial with enamelled Roman chapters and twin barrel movement, set within a rockwork case modelled with a sunburst and scrolling foliage, the rocaille-cast base mounted with two playful putti, one with a portrait medallion of Louis XIV, with ink museum inventory number R1945.788
35 in. (88.9 cm.) high; 30 in. (76.2 cm.) wide

Lot Essay

Conceived as a celebration of the Glory of France and as a commemoration of the reign of the Sun King, Louis XIV, Edmé Jean Gallien's original version of this sumptuous mantel clock, with gilding by Gobert and movement by Martinot, was supplied for the Cabinet du Roi at Versailles in 1754 (see P. Kjellberg, Encyclopédie de la Pendule française du Moyen Age au XXeSiècle, Paris, 1997, pp. 119-121). A mid-19th century copy of the model is in the Salon Napoléon III at the Louvre.

An ormolu and patinated bronze example of his model clock, cast by Graux-Marly, sold Sotheby's, New York, 'Property from the Estate of Lillian Rojtman Berkman', 28 January 2005, lot 896 ($38,400).

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