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Lot Essay
The pendule à la Geoffrin
This clock is a particularly impressive example of the so-called pendule à la Geoffrin which has been extensively researched and published by Christian Baulez. Until the publication of this fascinating article revealing the exact origins of this enduringly popular model, the two clocks supplied by the marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux to the duc de Bourgogne on 14 October 1758 - une pendule à sonnerie de J. Le Roy, composé d'une couchée représentant l'Etude en bronze doré d'or moulu - and to the comte du Luc on 9 November had always been considered to be the earliest examples recorded (C. Baulez, 'La Pendule à la Geoffrin: Un Modèle à Succès', L'Estampille - L'Objet d'Art, April 1989, pp. 34-41). However, as early as 1757 the marquis de Marigny had already acquired a clock of this model, with a movement by Musson, through Madame Geoffrin.
In 1768 Madame Geoffrin gave 'une pendule pareille à la mienne' to Denis Diderot, which survives in the Musée du Breuil de Saint-Germain at Langres. Other members of Madame Geoffrin's circle who owned 'une pendule à l'Emploi du Temps' included the banker Jean-Joseph de Laborde, the duc de la Vrillière and Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill. Walpole's clock, which he bought for £50 before 1774, was sold, Christie's London, 23 June 1999, lot 120. Walpole's clock had previously been thought to be possibly that at Waddesdon (G. de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor: Furniture, Clocks and Gilt Bronzes, London, 1974, 1, no. 17, pp. 104-7)
The duc de Choiseul owned an example which can be seen in the miniature by van Blarenberghe on the Choiseul Box, circa 1770-1 showing the cabinet octagone in the hôtel de Choiseul in Paris. A further example was sold in the Blondel de Gagny sale (P. Rimy, Paris, 10-24 December 1776 and 8-22 January 1777).
Jean-Antoine Lépine
Lépine (1720-1814) was one of the foremost clockmakers of his time. He executed a very wide range of clocks; in the 1788 inventory of the Garde Meuble, no less than thirty clocks bearing his name are listed (J.D. Augarde, Les Ouvriers du Temps, Geneva, 1996, p. 354)
His prestigious clientèle included the Comtesse de Provence, Prince Charles de Lorraine, the Princesse de Lamballe and various other members of the Court. His chef-d'oeuvre is perhaps the double-faced clock he supplied in 1769 for the famous bureau du Roi in Versailles.
Joseph Coteau
Coteau (1740-1812) was the most famous émailleur of his day, supplying bejewelled dials for the greatest clockmakers. Born in Geneva he became maître-peintre-émailleur at the Académie de Saint-Luc in 1766. By 1772 he was installed in Rue Poupée in Paris.
Coteau was celebrated not only for his dials but also as a skilled miniaturist. He discovered a new method for fixing raised gold on porcelain and worked closely with the Sèvres factory in developing their 'jewelled' porcelain.
Georges-Adrien Merlet
The GM signature on the dial could be for Georges Merlet (1754-c.1802). The son of a grocer, Merlet was one of the three best known émailleur in Paris during the latter half of the 18th century. The other two better known émailleurs were Jean Coteau and Gobin Etienne, known as Dubuisson.
This clock is a particularly impressive example of the so-called pendule à la Geoffrin which has been extensively researched and published by Christian Baulez. Until the publication of this fascinating article revealing the exact origins of this enduringly popular model, the two clocks supplied by the marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux to the duc de Bourgogne on 14 October 1758 - une pendule à sonnerie de J. Le Roy, composé d'une couchée représentant l'Etude en bronze doré d'or moulu - and to the comte du Luc on 9 November had always been considered to be the earliest examples recorded (C. Baulez, 'La Pendule à la Geoffrin: Un Modèle à Succès', L'Estampille - L'Objet d'Art, April 1989, pp. 34-41). However, as early as 1757 the marquis de Marigny had already acquired a clock of this model, with a movement by Musson, through Madame Geoffrin.
In 1768 Madame Geoffrin gave 'une pendule pareille à la mienne' to Denis Diderot, which survives in the Musée du Breuil de Saint-Germain at Langres. Other members of Madame Geoffrin's circle who owned 'une pendule à l'Emploi du Temps' included the banker Jean-Joseph de Laborde, the duc de la Vrillière and Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill. Walpole's clock, which he bought for £50 before 1774, was sold, Christie's London, 23 June 1999, lot 120. Walpole's clock had previously been thought to be possibly that at Waddesdon (G. de Bellaigue, The James A. de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor: Furniture, Clocks and Gilt Bronzes, London, 1974, 1, no. 17, pp. 104-7)
The duc de Choiseul owned an example which can be seen in the miniature by van Blarenberghe on the Choiseul Box, circa 1770-1 showing the cabinet octagone in the hôtel de Choiseul in Paris. A further example was sold in the Blondel de Gagny sale (P. Rimy, Paris, 10-24 December 1776 and 8-22 January 1777).
Jean-Antoine Lépine
Lépine (1720-1814) was one of the foremost clockmakers of his time. He executed a very wide range of clocks; in the 1788 inventory of the Garde Meuble, no less than thirty clocks bearing his name are listed (J.D. Augarde, Les Ouvriers du Temps, Geneva, 1996, p. 354)
His prestigious clientèle included the Comtesse de Provence, Prince Charles de Lorraine, the Princesse de Lamballe and various other members of the Court. His chef-d'oeuvre is perhaps the double-faced clock he supplied in 1769 for the famous bureau du Roi in Versailles.
Joseph Coteau
Coteau (1740-1812) was the most famous émailleur of his day, supplying bejewelled dials for the greatest clockmakers. Born in Geneva he became maître-peintre-émailleur at the Académie de Saint-Luc in 1766. By 1772 he was installed in Rue Poupée in Paris.
Coteau was celebrated not only for his dials but also as a skilled miniaturist. He discovered a new method for fixing raised gold on porcelain and worked closely with the Sèvres factory in developing their 'jewelled' porcelain.
Georges-Adrien Merlet
The GM signature on the dial could be for Georges Merlet (1754-c.1802). The son of a grocer, Merlet was one of the three best known émailleur in Paris during the latter half of the 18th century. The other two better known émailleurs were Jean Coteau and Gobin Etienne, known as Dubuisson.