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

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...