A LOUIS XV ORMOLU AND PATINATED-BRONZE STRIKING MANTEL CLOCK
A LOUIS XV ORMOLU AND PATINATED-BRONZE STRIKING MANTEL CLOCK

JULIEN LE ROY, JEAN-JOSEPH DE SAINT-GERMAIN AND ANTOINE NICOLAS MARTINIERE, PARIS, MID-18TH CENTURY

Details
A LOUIS XV ORMOLU AND PATINATED-BRONZE STRIKING MANTEL CLOCK
JULIEN LE ROY, JEAN-JOSEPH DE SAINT-GERMAIN AND ANTOINE NICOLAS MARTINIERE, PARIS, MID-18TH CENTURY
CASE: the drum supported by an elephant on a shaped rocaille base, signed to the reverse S. GERMAIN DIAL: the white enamel Roman and Arabic dial with pierced ormolu hands, signed Julien Le Roy and A.N. Martinière MOVEMENT: the twin barrel movement with silk suspension and countwheel strike on bell to rear door, the back plate signed Julien Le Roy AParis, with pendulum
19 ½ in. (49.5 cm.) high; 14 ½ in. (37 cm.) wide; 7 in. (17.5 cm.) deep
Provenance
Probably collection Docteur Neyraud, 1958.
Acquired at Mes. Ader, Picard, Tajan, Drouot Montaigne, Paris, Cabinet de curiosité, 20 October 1990, lot 149.

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Lot Essay

Mantel clocks featuring the figure of elephants were fashionable in Paris during the mid-eighteenth century owing to contemporary tastes for the exotic and Louis XV is know to have owned such an item. The elephant was often a diplomatic gift and its origin and appearance rendered it an object of fascination and entertainment in the West. Elephant figures applied to mantel clocks functioned as clock supports and tended to be of patinated or gilt-bronze, but examples in porcelain can also be found. A clock with a similar case and base is held in the Bodenstein Collection in Berlin (see H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich 1986, pp. 125-28). A clock similar to the present model, attributed to Le Roy and Saint-Germain was sold at Christie's, London, 12th June 1997, lot 5 (£26,450); another of identical design signed Saint-Germain and Barat was sold at Christies's, London, 7th July 2004 (£60,000).

Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain
Elected as maître fondeur en terre et en sable on 15th July 1748, Saint-Germain (1719-1791) enjoyed the privilege of an ouvrier libre, which enabled him to act both as ébéniste and bronzier. H...

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