Explore our rare antique french Rocaille or Rococo clocks, as well as decorative lighting, dating from the Regency or Louis XV period.
Rare Gilt and Patinated Bronze Mantel Clock
The Trumpeting Elephant and Putto
Dial signed “Viger à Paris” for clockmaker François Viger
Case attributed to Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain
Paris, Louis XV period, circa 1745-1750
The round white enamel dial, signed “Viger à Paris”, indicates the Roman numeral hours and the Arabic five-minute intervals by means of two pierced gilt bronze hands. The hour and half-hour striking movement, whose plate is also signed “Viger à Paris” and numbered “650”, is housed in a case made of finely chased gilt and patinated bronze. Surmounting the clock, there is a winged putto flying above the clouds and holding a bow in his left hand. The circular case is adorned with garlands of flowers and leaves; it rests on the back of a trumpeting elephant with a raised trunk, which is standing on a rocaille terrace in the form of a rocky ground adorned with flowers.
The mid-18th century was a particularly creative period in the French decorative arts. Much was done at the time to favor the development of exceptionally talented artists and artisans and to incite them to come, from all over Europe, to create pieces for influential Parisian collectors. This was the context in which the present clock was made. Its unusual design, depicting a trumpeting elephant standing on a rocaille base, dates from the mid-18th century. Several variations of it are known, particularly as concerns the figure at the clock’s summit. Some clocks are surmounted by a monkey holding a parasol; others feature a shorebird being surprised by a dog; a further, rarer variation is that of a winged putto holding a bow, as in the present example. The model may be attributed to Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain, for another clock of this type, made of gilt bronze and signed by Saint-Germain, was offered on the Parisian art market (sold Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Maître Lombrail, June 18, 2008, lot 150). Saint-Germain specialized in horological creations featuring animals such as bulls, lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, and wild boars, and produced variations of them over the course of several decades. As concerns elephant clocks in particular, he made another successful model in which the composition was inverted and was surmounted by a young child holding a sundial (one such clock is illustrated in Tardy, La pendule française, Ier Partie: de l’horloge gothique à la pendule Louis XV, Paris, 1975, p. 171).
Only a small number of identical clocks are known, some featuring minor variations in design. In the case of clocks surmounted by a monkey, one example is in the Residence in Bamberg (illustrated in H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Band I, Munich, 1986, p. 124, fig. 2.8.5). A second is in the Spanish Royal Collection (see J. Ramon Colon de Carvajal, Catalogo de Relojes del Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid, 1987, p. 23). One further such clock is in the collection of the Princes of Hesse in the Fasanerie Palace in Fulda (illustrated in the exhibition catalogue Gehäuse der Zeit, 2002, p. 93). As for models adorned by a sculptural group with a shorebird, one example, signed “Jean-Baptiste Baillon”, was formerly in the collection of Mrs. Anna Thomson Dodge (sold Christie’s, London, June 24, 1971, lot 39). Lastly, for the model with a surmounting putto, one clock, whose dial is signed “Renard à Reims”, was offered at auction when the collection of the Countess de Maigret was sold (Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Maître Delaporte, March 10, 1980, lot 44). A second example is illustrated in E. Niehüser, Die französische Bronzeuhr, Eine Typologie der figürlichen Darstellungen, Munich, 1997, p. 242, fig. 893.
François Viger (circa 1708 - 1784)
An 18th century Parisian clockmaker. Exercising independently at first, he became a master in August 1744 and opened a workshop in the rue Saint-Denis. As Jean-Dominique Augarde aptly states: “the pieces made in his workshop are of exceptional quality”. (Les ouvriers du Temps, Genève, 1996, p. 405). Viger ordered his clock cases from the best bronziers and cabinetmakers of the day, collaborating with such fine artisans as Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain, Antoine Foullet, and Jean-Baptiste Osmond. His work may be found today in important museums and private collections worldwide, including the Basel Historisches Museum de Bâle, the Wallace Collection in London, the Louvre in Paris, the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg and the Liazenski Palace in Warsaw.
Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain (1719 - 1791)
He was probably the most renowned Parisian of the mid 18th century. Active as of 1742, he did become a master craftsman until July 1748. He became famous for his many clock and cartel cases, such as his Diana the Huntress (an example is in the Louvre Museum), the clock supported by two Chinamen (a similar example is in the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Lyon), as well as several clocks based on animal themes, including elephant and rhinoceros clocks (an example in the Louvre Museum). In the early 1760’s he played an important role in the renewal of the French decorative arts and the development of the Neo-classical style, an important example of which may be seen in his Genius of Denmark clock, made for Frederic V and based on a model by Augustin Pajou (1765, in the Amalienborg Palace, Copenhagen). Saint-Germain also made several clocks inspired by the theme of Learning, or Study, based on a model by Louis-Félix de La Rue (examples in the Louvre Museum, the Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, and the Metropolitan Museum in New York). Along with his clock cases, Saint-Germain also made bronze furniture mounts, such as fire dogs, wall lights, and candelabra. His entire body of work bears witness to his remarkable skills as a chaser and bronzeworker, as well as to his extraordinary creativity. He retired in 1776.
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Important Rocaille Musical Mantel Clock made of Gilt Bronze with Matte Finishing
Dial signed “Gille L’aîné à Paris” for Pierre Ier François Gille, known as Gille l’Aîné (Gille the elder, 1690-1765)
Musical movement signed “Gille Fils à Paris” for Pierre II Gille (1723-1784)
Case signed “Dumont”, probably for the bronze-caster Antoine-François Dumont (active circa 1750-1760)
Paris, Louis XV period, circa 1755
The case stamped twice “DUMONT”
The old springs signed and dated “Buzot Debre (December) 1755” by the springs’ maker.
The round white enamel dial, signed “Gille L’aîné à Paris”, indicates the Roman numeral hours and the Arabic numeral five-minute intervals by means of two pierced gilt bronze hands. The hour and half hour striking movement, whose plate is signed “Gilles L’aîné à Paris” and is numbered “590”, is housed in a rocaille case of finely chased gilt bronze with matte finishing. The clock is surmounted by a lightly draped putto that is seated on a C-scroll and holds a torch adorned with a star. The bezel is surrounded by wave motifs. The case, lavishly embellished with branches and seeded foliage, stands on scroll feet; the aperture that reveals the pendulum’s movement is adorned with a large rocaille motif. The base with leaf-decorated scroll feet is adorned with scrolls, branches, foliage and volutes; it has pierced panels adorned with cutout motifs against which appear, on the façade, oak branches and an allegorical trophy representing Music. The base contains a musical movement playing twelve tunes on the hour; it bears the signature “Gille Fils à Paris”. The bronze on which the putto is sitting is stamped “DUMONT” on the back of the clock. Another “DUMONT” stamp is observable on the case of the musical movement.
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This rare clock, in the pure rocaille spirit of the mid-18th century, is remarkable for its base that contains a musical movement and for its general design, which is relatively similar to a model made during the same period by bronze caster Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain, an example of which is illustrated in G. and A. Wannenes, Les plus belles pendules françaises de Louis XIV à l’Empire, Florence, 2013, p. 152. Nevertheless, the present clock is much more representative of the asymmetrical rocaille style.
The two different clockmaker’s signatures on this clock, “Gille l’Aîné à Paris” and “Gille Fils à Paris”, suggest a collaboration between the father, Pierre I François Gille (1690-1765), and his son, Pierre II Gille (1723-1784). The clockwork mechanism would therefore have been made by the father, and the musical movement by the son.
As for the stamps “DUMONT”, they were made by the creator and sole owner of this model, the bronze-caster Dumont. Considering the dating of the present clock, it is very likely that the Dumont in question is Antoine-François Dumont, who became master bronze-caster in 1753. He produced only very few examples of this unusual model.
Among the small number of identical clocks, two clocks are known, however they lack the surmounting putto. The first, which stood on the mantel of the drawing room of the Hôtel de Feuquières, decorated by Henri Samuel, was formerly in the collection of Robert Zellinger de Balkany (illustrated in E. Evans Eerdmans, Henri Samuel, Master of the French Interior, New York, 2018, p. 146-147). The second clock, which bears the signatures of the clockmaker Martre in Bordeaux and the bronze caster Dumont, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (see H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, p. 126, fig. 2.8.11, and E. Niehüser, Die französische Bronzeuhr, Munich, 1997, p. 198, fig. 39).
The signatures “Gille l’Aîné à Paris” and “Gille Fils à Paris” are those of two Parisian clockmakers, father and son. Until 1765, the signature “Gille L’Aîné” was used by Pierre I François Gille (1690-1765), while his son Pierre II Gille (1723-1784) signed his dials “Gille L’Aîné Fils”.
After becoming a master on 18 November 1746 as the son of a master, Pierre II Gille opened a workshop in the rue Saint-Martin, then the rue Saint-Denis and the rue aux Ours. At the beginning of his career he worked with his father, then he opened his own workshop in the mid-18th century and immediately encountered great success among influential collectors. On his father’s death in 1765, Pierre II Gille took over his signature, marking his pieces “Gille l’Aîné à Paris”.
During the 18th century, clocks bearing the signature “Gille L’aîné” were mentioned as belonging to the Marquis de Brunoy, the Prince Charles de Lorraine, the influential Farmer General Perrinet de Jars, the Duke de Gramont, the Prince de Condé and Augustus II of Saxony.
The signature of this Parisian bronze caster – “Dumont”: is relatively rare; very little is known about his career. Pierre Verlet mentions several Parisian bronziers with that name who were active as of the second half of the 18th century, particularly a certain Antoine-François Dumont, who became a master as an apprentice on April 11, 1753 (see Les bronzes dorés français du XVIIIe siècle, Editions Picard, Paris, 1999, p. 415).
