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Lot Essay
ANTOINE-NICOLAS MARTINIERE (1706-1784)
This magnificent pendule is the only known object of its kind, a clock and bracket of the mid-eighteenth century executed entirely in white-enameled copper, a creation that could only be the product of the great émailleur, Antoine-Nicolas Martinière. Enamel had flourished in France during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, but by the eighteenth century had declined in prominence among the country’s arts, being practiced primarily on small-scale objects such as jewelry and small boxes. Martinière, the scion of a family of enamellers, was the first to achieve large-scale objects in the technique again, earning in the process not only fame, but also Royal recognition as both an artist and a scientist. In April of 1740, the Mercure de France reported an enameled clock dial measuring a staggering 14 inches in diameter, commissioned by the King and presented to him by Martinière himself. from 1741 onward, Martinière enjoyed the privileged status of pensionnaire du Roy, receiving a royal salary each year and the right to include the coveted designation on his signed works. On the present lot, it appears next to two of Martinière’s three signatures.
Enamelwork was a highly demanding process that involved grinding enamel to a fine consistency, purifying it with acid, applying it in layers to a copper surface hammered by hand, and repeatedly firing it in a furnace to achieve a durable and opaque surface. Perhaps eager to satisfy his Royal patron, Martinière endlessly pushed the boundaries of this medium, creating for the King in 1741-1742 the famous Almanach Perpetuel preserved in the Wallace Collection, London (inv. nos. F64-67), a perpetual calendar in enamel and gilt-bronze that was apparently so prized by the Royal Family that during the French Revolution, Louis XVI, grandson of its original recipient, had it brought with him from Versailles to the Tuileries, where he was transferred in 1789.
The present clock is perhaps an even greater tour de force. Its complex curving shape doubtlessly posed immense technical challenges for Martinière’s workshop. The front glazing is shaped into a sophisticated curved surface, far more complex than the usual flat pane of period French clocks. Clockmaking was essentially a collaborative project between an horloger and several contracted makers of parts, and Martinière, who designates himself as the author of the present clock (in defiance of guild regulations) by signing it, selected a maker with Royal appointments of his own to provide the movement. François-Joseph Filleul (1708-1774), based in Versailles, rather than Paris, had been appointed in 1745 valet de chambre horloger ordinaire de la Dauphine, and in 1748 secured the position of chef du gobelet du roi pour le quartier d'avril.
Given the extraordinary craftsmanship and Martinière’s close association with the King, this clock was likely a royal commission, though a definitive attribution has yet to surface. While the clock does not appear in the Garde-Meuble inventories, this does not preclude the possibility that the King, an avid watchmaking enthusiast, or another member of the Royal Family commissioned it privately. The motifs selected for the gilt trophies, including hunting-horns, game and weapons, imply a Royal or aristocratic hunting lodge, rather than a Parisian residence, as its intended home. The year inscribed on the clock, 1751, may lend credence to an attractive hypothesis, holding that it was a commemorative commission for the birth on 13 September of Louis-Joseph-Xavier, Duke of Burgundy and presumed heir to the throne to the Dauphin and the Dauphine, Marie-Josèphe de Saxe. The glossy white surface of the clock, evocative of Dresden porcelain, would perhaps have been seen as appropriate for the Saxon princess, paying homage to her foreign origin and serving to highlight the nations’ alliance, solidified by the birth of the new heir to the throne.
This magnificent pendule is the only known object of its kind, a clock and bracket of the mid-eighteenth century executed entirely in white-enameled copper, a creation that could only be the product of the great émailleur, Antoine-Nicolas Martinière. Enamel had flourished in France during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, but by the eighteenth century had declined in prominence among the country’s arts, being practiced primarily on small-scale objects such as jewelry and small boxes. Martinière, the scion of a family of enamellers, was the first to achieve large-scale objects in the technique again, earning in the process not only fame, but also Royal recognition as both an artist and a scientist. In April of 1740, the Mercure de France reported an enameled clock dial measuring a staggering 14 inches in diameter, commissioned by the King and presented to him by Martinière himself. from 1741 onward, Martinière enjoyed the privileged status of pensionnaire du Roy, receiving a royal salary each year and the right to include the coveted designation on his signed works. On the present lot, it appears next to two of Martinière’s three signatures.
Enamelwork was a highly demanding process that involved grinding enamel to a fine consistency, purifying it with acid, applying it in layers to a copper surface hammered by hand, and repeatedly firing it in a furnace to achieve a durable and opaque surface. Perhaps eager to satisfy his Royal patron, Martinière endlessly pushed the boundaries of this medium, creating for the King in 1741-1742 the famous Almanach Perpetuel preserved in the Wallace Collection, London (inv. nos. F64-67), a perpetual calendar in enamel and gilt-bronze that was apparently so prized by the Royal Family that during the French Revolution, Louis XVI, grandson of its original recipient, had it brought with him from Versailles to the Tuileries, where he was transferred in 1789.
The present clock is perhaps an even greater tour de force. Its complex curving shape doubtlessly posed immense technical challenges for Martinière’s workshop. The front glazing is shaped into a sophisticated curved surface, far more complex than the usual flat pane of period French clocks. Clockmaking was essentially a collaborative project between an horloger and several contracted makers of parts, and Martinière, who designates himself as the author of the present clock (in defiance of guild regulations) by signing it, selected a maker with Royal appointments of his own to provide the movement. François-Joseph Filleul (1708-1774), based in Versailles, rather than Paris, had been appointed in 1745 valet de chambre horloger ordinaire de la Dauphine, and in 1748 secured the position of chef du gobelet du roi pour le quartier d'avril.
Given the extraordinary craftsmanship and Martinière’s close association with the King, this clock was likely a royal commission, though a definitive attribution has yet to surface. While the clock does not appear in the Garde-Meuble inventories, this does not preclude the possibility that the King, an avid watchmaking enthusiast, or another member of the Royal Family commissioned it privately. The motifs selected for the gilt trophies, including hunting-horns, game and weapons, imply a Royal or aristocratic hunting lodge, rather than a Parisian residence, as its intended home. The year inscribed on the clock, 1751, may lend credence to an attractive hypothesis, holding that it was a commemorative commission for the birth on 13 September of Louis-Joseph-Xavier, Duke of Burgundy and presumed heir to the throne to the Dauphin and the Dauphine, Marie-Josèphe de Saxe. The glossy white surface of the clock, evocative of Dresden porcelain, would perhaps have been seen as appropriate for the Saxon princess, paying homage to her foreign origin and serving to highlight the nations’ alliance, solidified by the birth of the new heir to the throne.