96th Auction
2017/11/18
Lot 584
Lepaute, Horloger de l'Empereur à Paris, Movement No. 1808 + 6, Height 530 mm, circa 1810
An important Empire mantel clock with half hour / hour self strike, date and pin wheel escapement, "The melancholic Calliope, the muse of epic poetry"
Case: bronze, firegilt, green marble base, four paw feet. Dial: enamel. Movm.: circular brass full plate movement, signed, 2 barrels for going and striking train, 1 locking plate for the hour strike with 1 hammer/1 bell, steel/brass/gridiron pendulum with fine adjusting device and heavy oval-shaped bob.
Four lifelike paw feet carry the rectangular marble base with a block-shaped column that supports the dial. A muse rests her elbow on the clock; in her right hand she holds a book. The other side of the column is decorated with a bas-relief showing trophies of war.
A similar ormolu mantel clock is in the "Museo de Relojes", Jerez de la Frontera", Spain.
A comparable clock is mentioned in: Tardy, "Les Plus Belles Pendules Française", vol. 2, Paris 1994, p. 252.
Pierre-Basile Lepaute (1750-1843)
Pierre-Basile Lepaute (who called himself Sully-Lepaute) took over the famous company established in the 1740s and ran it together with his son Pierre-Michel Lepaute (1785-1849). He held the title of Horloger de l'Empereur during the Empire and Horloger du Roi at the Restoration and the July Monarchy. Lepaute's company was the main supplier of clocks to the Garde-Meuble during the times of the Empire. He was admitted to the Exhibitions of the Products of the Industry in 1819 and 1823.
The Lepautes were one of France’s leading clock and watchmaking families. They were inventors and writers as well as researchers and exceptional craftsmen. Their clients included Louis XV, Louis XVI, Madame du Barry, Duc de Bourbon, the Princesse de Monaco, King Ferdinand VI, King Charles III and Charles IV of Spain.
An important Empire mantel clock with half hour / hour self strike, date and pin wheel escapement, "The melancholic Calliope, the muse of epic poetry"
Case: bronze, firegilt, green marble base, four paw feet. Dial: enamel. Movm.: circular brass full plate movement, signed, 2 barrels for going and striking train, 1 locking plate for the hour strike with 1 hammer/1 bell, steel/brass/gridiron pendulum with fine adjusting device and heavy oval-shaped bob.
Four lifelike paw feet carry the rectangular marble base with a block-shaped column that supports the dial. A muse rests her elbow on the clock; in her right hand she holds a book. The other side of the column is decorated with a bas-relief showing trophies of war.
A similar ormolu mantel clock is in the "Museo de Relojes", Jerez de la Frontera", Spain.
A comparable clock is mentioned in: Tardy, "Les Plus Belles Pendules Française", vol. 2, Paris 1994, p. 252.
Pierre-Basile Lepaute (1750-1843)
Pierre-Basile Lepaute (who called himself Sully-Lepaute) took over the famous company established in the 1740s and ran it together with his son Pierre-Michel Lepaute (1785-1849). He held the title of Horloger de l'Empereur during the Empire and Horloger du Roi at the Restoration and the July Monarchy. Lepaute's company was the main supplier of clocks to the Garde-Meuble during the times of the Empire. He was admitted to the Exhibitions of the Products of the Industry in 1819 and 1823.
The Lepautes were one of France’s leading clock and watchmaking families. They were inventors and writers as well as researchers and exceptional craftsmen. Their clients included Louis XV, Louis XVI, Madame du Barry, Duc de Bourbon, the Princesse de Monaco, King Ferdinand VI, King Charles III and Charles IV of Spain.
Sold
estimated
11.000—16.000 €
Price realized
12.400 €