THE CASE ATTRIBUTED TO PIERRE-PHILIPPE THOMIRE, THE MOVEMENT BY JEAN AMANT, CIRCA 1785

With their finely chased gilt-bronze mounts adorning Sèvres porcelain vases, this magnificent pair of clocks is amongst the most ambitious and luxurious examples of ormolu-mounted objects conceived in France in the late 18^th century. Originally part of a set of four commissioned to adorn a single room, each timepiece featured a distinctive mechanism and functioned as candelabra as well as ice coolers, reunited in intricate neo-classical cases attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843). In his capacity as designer and bronzier, he would have overseen this creation for an important patron, probably a member of a European Royal court. The clocks then reappeared in the collection of Sir Max Michaelis (1852-1932), a South African financier, mining magnate, benefactor and patron of the arts in the 19^th century and have remained with his descendants until the present day.

THE ATTRIBUTION TO PIERRE-PHILIPPE THOMIRE (1751-1843)

The design of these clocks incorporates a profuse combination of splendid ormolu ornaments; these were almost certainly cast and chased by the celebrated bronzier Pierre-Philippe Thomire who excelled in the production of luxurious and precious works of art combining different materials. While the female figures on the present lot appear to be unique in the bronzier’s oeuvre and were probably conceived specifically for this model, the other ormolu elements appear more frequently on objects attributed to Thomire.
The drip-pans, for instance, are the same as those on the famous American Independence candelabra at Versailles, which were made by Thomire in 1784. The central vase, designed after the antique Borghese vase with its ormolu frieze depicting the four hours of the day, is the same as the one in the Hermitage also by Thomire, illustrated in 'Decorative Bronzes by Pierre-Philippe Thomire', Exhibition Catalogue, The Hermitage, 1984, no. 11 (inv. E582 - E582). The Hermitage vase was delivered at the end of the 18th century for the bedroom of Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna at the Palais Mikhaelovsky. A closely related pair of pots-pourris were sold anonymously at Sotheby's Monaco, 21 June 1988, lot 813. Whilst they share identical mounts to the lid, socle and foliate-edged plinth, as well as the frieze and satyr-mask handles of the present lot, the pots-pourris’ griffins and scrolled pierced palmette frieze are shared with those on the celebrated Médaillier by Guillaume Benneman and with mounts either by Pierre-Philippe Thomire or Francois Rémond, supplied to Louis XVI for the Château de Versailles (discussed in C. Baulez, 'Un Médaillier de Louis XVI à Versailles', La Revue du Louvre, 3, 1987, p. 172-5).

The presence of beau bleu Sèvres porcelain bodies further confirms this attribution. Following the death of Jean-Claude-Thomas Duplessis (fils) in 1783, Thomire became responsible for the design and fitting of gilt-bronzes for the Sèvres factory. From that year onwards, Thomire favoured this highly fashionable and costly material for his most elaborate projects. The largest and richest example of this type is perhaps the pair of ‘Grands Vases Sèvres Boizot’ which were commissioned by the comte d'Angiviller, Director of the Bâtiments du Roi, for Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette at Versailles in 1783, now in the Louvre (inv. no. OA 6627) and in the Palazzo Pitti (inv. num.1518). Another important example is the 'Vase de Mars' delivered with is pendant the Vase Minerva in 1787 at the enormous price of 12.000 livres for the pair for the Cabinet du Conseil at Versailles to accompany the blue brocade furniture designed for Louis XVI (now in the Louvre, inv. num. OA9590). Thomire incorporated similar porcelain on a set of three vases including one in the English Royal Collection at Windsor Castle (inv. no. RCIN 64062), one in the J. Paul Getty Museum in California (inv. no. 70D1 115) and the third example sold at Christie’s, London, 11 June 2003, lot 10. Some of these objects were commissions made for the French Royal family while others were supplied to private individuals through the marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre who supplied designs of blue vases of different shapes and sizes to be mounted by Thomire. This includes the so-called ‘vases Daguerre’ which were mounted with gilt-bronze as candelabra or cassolettes.

A SUMPTUOUS COMMISSION

Originally part of a set of four, indicating an important commission for an illustrious patron, research in the Sèvres manufactory archives has not yet shed any light on their original provenance. Each timepiece is unusually mounted with a pair of figures forming candelabra on a rouge griotte base, each with a specific mechanism by the clockmaker Jean Amant: the two clocks offered here include a dial showing the hours of the day, the other showing the moon phases; a third timepiece from the set previously in the collection of the late Lord Sherborne is at Hinton Ampner (NT 1529934) and displays the months with signs of the zodiac; the fourth was sold at Christie’s, London, 9 June 1994, lot 17 (£133,500) and shows the days of the week and days of the month. The dials are signed by Jean-Baptiste Amant (d. after 1810), the son of Louis Amant who developed the pin-wheel escapement in 1741. Received as maître 1 October 1755 he worked at the Quai Pelletier in 1755 and worked with other ciseleurs-fondeurs like the Osmonds (J.D. Augarde, Les Ouvriers du Temps, Geneva, 1996, p. 269.).

All four clocks were undoubtedly conceived together, a set of unparalleled richness and visual impact. With their vases simulating ice coolers - an unexpected luxury for mechanical objects d’art - one could assume these were conceived to adorn a dining room or a ‘folie’, probably for a European Royal court. The profuse design overladen with extremely delicate and refined ornaments - a colourful taste developed by Jean-Demosthene Dugourc - was particularly favoured outside of France and adopted at some of the most sophisticated courts of Europe. It has been suggested that the depiction of Mount Vesuvius erupting on the lunar clock might indicate a commission for Marie Antoinette’s sister, Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples (1752-1814) who popularised dramatic paintings of the eruption in the bay of Naples. Maria Carolina and her husband, Ferdinand IV, embarked on a lavish programme of decoration at their residences, which included important commissions of lacquer pieces by Adam Weisweiler for the Palace of Caserta, which were dispersed along with other furnishings around 1860.
Another possibility would be a commission by the court of Russia which Pierre-Philippe Thomire supplied numerous bronzes d’ameublement from the early 1780s onward. Paul I (1754-1801) was an avid collector of French furniture and works of art and made extensive purchases from the most renowned bronziers in Paris. His interest for such luxurious Parisian goods came about whilst, travelling incognito through Europe using the pseudonyms ‘Comte and Comtesse du Nord’, he and his wife enjoyed a month-long stay in Paris in 1782, where they embarked on a vast spending spree on French decorative arts. His purchases included numerous gilt-bronze objects by Thomire, some of which remain in the interiors of the palace of Pavlovsk.

A third enticing possibility would be a commission for the court of Spain where Thomire was also particularly active. Through the clockmaker François-Louis Godon, the Spanish Court commissioned a chandelier from Thomire made in 1788 which is in the Palais de la Moncloa; this commission was followed a few years later by a pair of candelabra, probably by the same bronzier, later part of the collection of Baron Edouard de Rothschild, at the château de Ferrières. These sumptuous items were sometimes diplomatic gifts; in 1785 for instance, Louis XVI presented a pair of Sèvres porcelain candelabra to the Princess de Asturias (future Queen of Spain). These were modelled after Louis-Siméon Boizot and had mounts executed by Thomire (sold at Sotheby’s, Paris, 8 October 2008, lot 48). Another pair of candelabra by Thomire, incorporating Sèvres porcelain, was commissioned circa 1790-91 for King Carlos IV (now in the Palacio Real, Madrid, inv. num. 100003028 and 10003029). A large number of these items left the Spanish court when Queen Isabella II (1833-1904) was deposed in 1868 and emigrated to France.

SIR MAX AND LADY LILIAN MICHAELIS

Sir Max Michaelis (1860–1932) was a South African mining magnate and philanthropist. Born in Eisfeld, Germany, Michaelis worked in a Frankfurt banking house before emigrating to South Africa in 1876. He settled in Kimberley where he formed a diamond-buying company which was later taken over by De Beers.
In 1892, having made his fortune in South Africa, Max Michaelis retired to England. He lived at 22, St James’ Place, and at Tandridge Court, Surrey, a large house he bought from Lord Cottenham. In 1908, he married Lilian Button with whom he settled in Paris, living in a mansion in the Place des Etats-Unis from 1908 to 1912. His original employer for many years in the diamond fields of South Africa was Jules Porgès (1839-1921). Porgès had built up an extraordinary collection of French Decorative Arts, housed in his Château de Rochefort in the suburbs of Paris and in his town house in the Rue Montaigne, a short walk from the Michaelises. Porgès helped them with their own collecting, and may have helped them acquire the set of four vase clocks. Lilian admired Marie-Antoinette, a likely provenance for such an extraordinary group of items which might have appealed to her. Max and Lilian spent the war years at Tandridge Court, emigrating to South Africa in 1919 where they lived at Montebello, a graceful house in Cape Town, where these vase clocks were placed in the dining room. As discussed, one timepiece was later acquired in 1953 by Ralph Dutton while the other was sold at Christie's in 1993.

Michaelis is best known for his interest in and benefactions to art and education. He established scholarships in South Africa and England, including the Jewish War Memorial Scholarship at Oxford. He donated funds to the University of Cape Town for a school of fine arts which was named after him. In 1912 he bought the Hugh Lane collection of Dutch masters, which he presented to the South African nation as the nucleus of the Michaelis Art Gallery in Cape Town. Michaelis contributed to the Johannesburg Art Gallery, City Library, and to hospitals. A knighthood was conferred on him in 1924.