A LARGE FRENCH ORMOLU MANTEL CLOCK
A LARGE FRENCH ORMOLU MANTEL CLOCK
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Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s F… Read more
A LARGE FRENCH ORMOLU MANTEL CLOCK

BY ALFRED-EMMANUEL (DIT ALFRED II) BEURDELEY, PARIS, LATE 19TH CENTURY

Details
A LARGE FRENCH ORMOLU MANTEL CLOCK
BY ALFRED-EMMANUEL (DIT ALFRED II) BEURDELEY, PARIS, LATE 19TH CENTURY
Surmounted with a figure of Cupid with bow drawn, the angles formed with ram's heads, over a rectangular clock-case centered with a circular dial with shaped enamel numbers and a plaque signed 'A. BEURDELEY FILS PARIS', centered by a draped goddess, raised on four scroll feet headed by term figures in plumed headdresses, the reverse of the portrait cartouche incised 'BY', the movement stamped 'J. LEFEBVRE FILS/PARIS', numbered '2505' and '10[...]6'
40 in. (101.5 cm.) high, 19 ½ in. (49.5 cm.) wide, 9 ¼ in. (23.5 cm.) deep
Special notice
Please note this lot will be moved to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services (CFASS in Red Hook, Brooklyn) at 5pm on the last day of the sale. Lots may not be collected during the day of their move to Christie’s Fine Art Storage Services. Please consult the Lot Collection Notice for collection information. This sheet is available from the Bidder Registration staff, Purchaser Payments or the Packing Desk and will be sent with your invoice.

Lot Essay

Beurdeley specialized in executing the most luxurious furnishings and decorations to the highest quality and was pre-eminent among the Parisian ébénistes, especially for the refinement of his ormolu. Using only the most magnificent models, he took as his reference articles from the Garde-Meuble National, such as this design by André-Charles Boulle. He exhibited at the major International Exhibitions, including Paris in 1878 and Amsterdam in 1883, at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, and was awarded the médaille d'or at the Paris Exposition universelle of 1889. The workshops were closed in 1895, after which a series of public auctions took place between May 1895 and May 1898, amounting to some 2000 lots from the Pavillion du Hanovre and the workshops on the rue d'Autencourt in the 17e arrondissement.

It is presumed the present clock was exhibited in 1880, as illustrated in C. Mestdagh, L'ameublement d'art français: 1850-1900, Paris, 2010, p. 156, and was subsequently sold as lot 42 in the 6-9 May 1895 Vente Beurdeley at Galerie Georges Petit, Paris. Described as 'de style Louis XIV, têtes de béliers, figure applique de nymph...surmontée d'une statuette d'amour', the clock was ultimately bought back by the family (1,360 francs) and sold once again in the 19 October 1897 sale as lot 30.

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