Live Auction 8023The Opulent Eye - 500 Years Decorative Arts Europe
A NAPOLEON III ORMOLU THREE-PIECE CLOCK GARNITURE
Lot 199

A NAPOLEON III ORMOLU THREE-PIECE CLOCK GARNITURE

BY RAINGO FRÈRES, PARIS, THIRD QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

Closed22 September 2011

Price Realised

GBP 49,250

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A NAPOLEON III ORMOLU THREE-PIECE CLOCK GARNITURE
By RAINGO FRÈRES, PARIS, THIRD QUARTER 19TH CENTURY
Comprising a mantel clock and a pair of five-light candelabra CASE: of waisted cartouche outshape applied all-over with rocaille and acanthus scrolls with a central seated figure of Venus attended by a putto and flanked by conch-blowing mermen DIAL relief-cast with enamelled hands and inset with enamel chapters and a plaquette signed 'Raingo Fresà Paris' MOVEMENT: twin-barrels with countwheel strike on replaced bell, winding key and pendulum, the candelabra en suite with figures of Poseidon and Amphitrite seated on dolphins beneath acanthus-cast branches
The clock: 31 in. (79 cm.) high; 22¼ in. (56.5 cm.) wide; 10 in. (25.5 cm.) deep
The candelabra: 33 in. (84 cm.) high (3)

Specialist note

Little is known about the French clockmaker and bronzier Raingo, who almost certainly apprenticed in Paris circa 1790. He moved to Belgium, circa 1800, probably for political reasons, and from the signatures on some of his clocks, it is known that he worked in Gand and Tournay. Later, in 1823, he is recorded as being clockmaker to the duc de Chartres. The company itself became Raingo Frères in 1825 and thereafter clocks bear their signature with various Paris addresses. The firm exhibited at many of the important exhibitions of the second half of the 19th century and was known for the fine quality of its ormolu.