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Lot Essay
Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain, maître fondeur in 1748.
The movement, originally probably by one of the Parisian clockmakers such as le Roy, Lenoir or Gosselin, all of whom bought clock cases from Saint Germain, was replaced in England in the early 19th Century by the Royal clockmaking firm of B. Vulliamy and Son, headed by Benjamin Vulliamy (d.1811) and his son Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy (d.1854).
The so-called ménagerie clocks remain one of the most creative expressions of 18th century French rococo design. Models ranged from wild boars to bulls, but the elephant was by far the most popular and perhaps successful of all these models. The figure of the elephant is thought to have derived from a Kakiemon porcelain model, an example of which is at Burghley House, Lincolnshire (Porcelain from Palaces, exhibition catalogue, London, 1990, p. 178, no. 160), which were subsequently copied at the St. Cloud manufactory. Although elephants had been celebrated in the West since antiquity, the fashion for such exotic animals in France was particularly encouraged by the gift in 1686 of a whole menagerie, including an elephant, to Louis XIV from the ambassador of the King of Siam.
JEAN-JOSEPH DE SAINT-GERMAIN
Elected as a maître fondeur en terre et en sable on 15 July 1748, Saint-Germain (1719 - 1791) enjoyed the privilege of an ouvrier libre - enabling him to act both as an ébéniste and bronzier. He frequently supplied cases cast with animal forms and allegorical figures to the leading clockmakers of Paris, including the le Roy workshops, Etienne Lenoir and Jean-Philippe Gosselin.
GODMERSHAM PARK
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Tritton bought Godmersham Park in 1936, and not only rescued the house, but filled it with one of the finest post-war collections of English and French furniture in this country. The property at one time belonged to Jane Austen's brother, Edward Austen Knight, and there are letters written by her describing Godmersham and its beautiful park.
The movement, originally probably by one of the Parisian clockmakers such as le Roy, Lenoir or Gosselin, all of whom bought clock cases from Saint Germain, was replaced in England in the early 19th Century by the Royal clockmaking firm of B. Vulliamy and Son, headed by Benjamin Vulliamy (d.1811) and his son Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy (d.1854).
The so-called ménagerie clocks remain one of the most creative expressions of 18th century French rococo design. Models ranged from wild boars to bulls, but the elephant was by far the most popular and perhaps successful of all these models. The figure of the elephant is thought to have derived from a Kakiemon porcelain model, an example of which is at Burghley House, Lincolnshire (Porcelain from Palaces, exhibition catalogue, London, 1990, p. 178, no. 160), which were subsequently copied at the St. Cloud manufactory. Although elephants had been celebrated in the West since antiquity, the fashion for such exotic animals in France was particularly encouraged by the gift in 1686 of a whole menagerie, including an elephant, to Louis XIV from the ambassador of the King of Siam.
JEAN-JOSEPH DE SAINT-GERMAIN
Elected as a maître fondeur en terre et en sable on 15 July 1748, Saint-Germain (1719 - 1791) enjoyed the privilege of an ouvrier libre - enabling him to act both as an ébéniste and bronzier. He frequently supplied cases cast with animal forms and allegorical figures to the leading clockmakers of Paris, including the le Roy workshops, Etienne Lenoir and Jean-Philippe Gosselin.
GODMERSHAM PARK
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Tritton bought Godmersham Park in 1936, and not only rescued the house, but filled it with one of the finest post-war collections of English and French furniture in this country. The property at one time belonged to Jane Austen's brother, Edward Austen Knight, and there are letters written by her describing Godmersham and its beautiful park.