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Lot Essay
Finely chased and gilt clocks of this model, with an elephant on a rockwork or scrolling base, are frequently signed by Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain. Elected as a maître-fondeur on 15 July 1748, Saint-Germain 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. The quality of chasing and modelling in Saint-Germain's animal and foliate decorated cases also suggests close study of the natural world. A man of his times, Saint-Germain probably received a rudimentary education in rhetoric, the Classics and calculus in addition to a formal study of sculpture and draughtsmanship, reflecting the social and economic status of his family. Evidence for this early education is seen in the substantial library and finely organized cabinet of curiosities he amassed. This collection, in turn, sheds light upon his interests in the natural sciences, particularly botany and mineralogy, and the quality of his bronze casts (J.-D. Augarde, "Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain: Bronzier (1719-1791)", L'Estampille/l'Objet d'Art, December, 1996, pp. 63-82).
Inspired by Kakiemon porcelain models of elephants, such as that at Burghley House, Lincolnshire ('Porcelain from Palaces', Exhibition Catalogue, British Museum, 6 July-4 November 1990, p.178, no.160), which were subsequently copied at the St. Cloud manufactory, St. Germain's design enjoyed enduring popularity in the mid-18th century. Thus, while clocks of this form are known to have been in existence by the mid-1740s, testified to by the 'pendule au singe' stamped with the C couronné poinçon (employed 1745-’49), sold anonymously at Christie's, London, 10 June 1993, lot 9, (£80,700), they remained ‘en vogue’ until at least 15 December 1757, when Madame de Montmartel acquired a clock of this identical model from the marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux. Described as Une pendule en bronze doré d'ormoulu, dont le mouvement à sonnerie, de Moisy, est porté sur un éléphant, it cost 660 livres. Within this period the main development of the model is apparent in the base: the earlier examples of the late 1740s tend to be entirely embellished with rockwork; the slightly later examples have a base consisting entirely of openwork scrolls of which the present clock is a superb example.
Inspired by Kakiemon porcelain models of elephants, such as that at Burghley House, Lincolnshire ('Porcelain from Palaces', Exhibition Catalogue, British Museum, 6 July-4 November 1990, p.178, no.160), which were subsequently copied at the St. Cloud manufactory, St. Germain's design enjoyed enduring popularity in the mid-18th century. Thus, while clocks of this form are known to have been in existence by the mid-1740s, testified to by the 'pendule au singe' stamped with the C couronné poinçon (employed 1745-’49), sold anonymously at Christie's, London, 10 June 1993, lot 9, (£80,700), they remained ‘en vogue’ until at least 15 December 1757, when Madame de Montmartel acquired a clock of this identical model from the marchand-mercier Lazare Duvaux. Described as Une pendule en bronze doré d'ormoulu, dont le mouvement à sonnerie, de Moisy, est porté sur un éléphant, it cost 660 livres. Within this period the main development of the model is apparent in the base: the earlier examples of the late 1740s tend to be entirely embellished with rockwork; the slightly later examples have a base consisting entirely of openwork scrolls of which the present clock is a superb example.