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Lot Essay
With its sculptural Chinese magician, pagodas and dragon feet, this charming clock exemplifies the fashionable goût for whimsical chinoiserie which emerged during the Louis XV period and went unabated throughout the 19th Century.
Closely related clocks au magicien with chinoiserie figures playing the 'cup and ball trick' include a clock with base similarly cast with dragon feet, sold at Christie's, London, 2 October 1991, lot 74 (£7,480), a further clock with movement by Leroy, sold at Christie's, London, 15 June 1994, lot 418 (£8,050), and another with movement by Japy Frères and case by L. Hennert, offered Christie's, London, 17 June 2005, lot 67.
Closely related clocks au magicien with chinoiserie figures playing the 'cup and ball trick' include a clock with base similarly cast with dragon feet, sold at Christie's, London, 2 October 1991, lot 74 (£7,480), a further clock with movement by Leroy, sold at Christie's, London, 15 June 1994, lot 418 (£8,050), and another with movement by Japy Frères and case by L. Hennert, offered Christie's, London, 17 June 2005, lot 67.