95th Auction
2017/5/6
Lot 363
Isaac Thuret, Paris, Height 390 mm, circa 1680
An important Louis XIV miniature pendule with quarter hour/hour strike, created during the experimental period of the early pendulum clocks; in a typical "tête du poupée"-style case developed by André Charles Boulle, with matching bracket
Case: ebonized wood/red tortoiseshell veneer, brass inlays. Dial: gilt brass, applied silvered chapter ring, signed. Movm.: convex shaped brass full plate movement, signed, 3 barrels, 3 hammers / 3 bells, locking plate, verge escapement, four-arm steel balance with fixed short pendulum and additional silk string suspension.
The typical convex-shaped Louis XIV-style rests on a rectangular moulded base with four gilt gadrooned feet. The walls are veneered with tortoiseshell and brass inlays in "première contre partie" technique with floral arabesque motifs. The bells sit in a hipped bell top with gilt brass baluster balustrade. The gilt brass dial has an applied silvered chapter ring with inlaid Roman hours and fine floral engraving in the centre. A small florally engraved regulation dial surrounded by engraved garlands and ribbons is visible in the top part of the dial.
The combination of verge pendulum and balance indicates that the clock was intended as a portable model - either between different rooms in the house or even for travel. This remarkable timepiece - created by one of the most renowned French makers - is one of the earliest pendulum clocks we know. The cooperation between Christian Huygens and Isaac Thuret was legendary.
Isaac Thuret (1649-1706) was one of the most important French makers. In 1684 Thuret became Horloger du Roi (Louis XIV) and Horloger de l'Observatoire de Paris and in 1686 was established in the Galeries du Louvre. He maintained the clocks in the Fontainebleau Palace and between 1689 and 1694 also looked after the clocks in the Paris oberservatory and of the Académie des Sciences. On January 22, 1675, he made a watch with the first balance spring for Huygens, pretending it to be his own invention. Later he apologized for this to Huygens. Thuret also made clocks with verge escapement, cycloidal cheeks and seconds-pendulum for Huygens, one of which is preserved in the Museum Boerhaave in Leiden, He also made a great number of "religieuses".
Lit.: H.B. Vehmeyer "Clocks their origin and development 1320-1880", vol II, Wilsele 2004, page 994.
Doll's head clocks, often known by their French name "tête du poupée", were popular in the later half of Louis XIV's reign. They are named for their profile which resembles a head and shoulders. The doll's head clock is almost always ornamented with Boulle marquetry.
A very similar clock by Isaac Thuret is illustrated and described in H.M. Vehmeyer "Clocks their origin and development 1320-1880", vol II, Wilsele 2004, p 836f.
An important Louis XIV miniature pendule with quarter hour/hour strike, created during the experimental period of the early pendulum clocks; in a typical "tête du poupée"-style case developed by André Charles Boulle, with matching bracket
Case: ebonized wood/red tortoiseshell veneer, brass inlays. Dial: gilt brass, applied silvered chapter ring, signed. Movm.: convex shaped brass full plate movement, signed, 3 barrels, 3 hammers / 3 bells, locking plate, verge escapement, four-arm steel balance with fixed short pendulum and additional silk string suspension.
The typical convex-shaped Louis XIV-style rests on a rectangular moulded base with four gilt gadrooned feet. The walls are veneered with tortoiseshell and brass inlays in "première contre partie" technique with floral arabesque motifs. The bells sit in a hipped bell top with gilt brass baluster balustrade. The gilt brass dial has an applied silvered chapter ring with inlaid Roman hours and fine floral engraving in the centre. A small florally engraved regulation dial surrounded by engraved garlands and ribbons is visible in the top part of the dial.
The combination of verge pendulum and balance indicates that the clock was intended as a portable model - either between different rooms in the house or even for travel. This remarkable timepiece - created by one of the most renowned French makers - is one of the earliest pendulum clocks we know. The cooperation between Christian Huygens and Isaac Thuret was legendary.
Isaac Thuret (1649-1706) was one of the most important French makers. In 1684 Thuret became Horloger du Roi (Louis XIV) and Horloger de l'Observatoire de Paris and in 1686 was established in the Galeries du Louvre. He maintained the clocks in the Fontainebleau Palace and between 1689 and 1694 also looked after the clocks in the Paris oberservatory and of the Académie des Sciences. On January 22, 1675, he made a watch with the first balance spring for Huygens, pretending it to be his own invention. Later he apologized for this to Huygens. Thuret also made clocks with verge escapement, cycloidal cheeks and seconds-pendulum for Huygens, one of which is preserved in the Museum Boerhaave in Leiden, He also made a great number of "religieuses".
Lit.: H.B. Vehmeyer "Clocks their origin and development 1320-1880", vol II, Wilsele 2004, page 994.
Doll's head clocks, often known by their French name "tête du poupée", were popular in the later half of Louis XIV's reign. They are named for their profile which resembles a head and shoulders. The doll's head clock is almost always ornamented with Boulle marquetry.
A very similar clock by Isaac Thuret is illustrated and described in H.M. Vehmeyer "Clocks their origin and development 1320-1880", vol II, Wilsele 2004, p 836f.
Sold
estimated
6.000—20.000 €
Price realized
18.600 €