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A LATE LOUIS XVI ORMOLU, GLASS AND WHITE MARBLE STRIKING MANTEL CLOCK
Lot 199

A LATE LOUIS XVI ORMOLU, GLASS AND WHITE MARBLE STRIKING MANTEL CLOCK

ROBIN, HORLOGER DE LA REINE. CIRCA 1790

Closed8 December 2011

Price Realised

GBP 5,000

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A LATE LOUIS XVI ORMOLU, GLASS AND WHITE MARBLE STRIKING MANTEL CLOCK
ROBIN, HORLOGER DE LA REINE. CIRCA 1790
CASE: arched, with a dove atop a pedestal to the top, glazed to all sides with fluted pilasters to the angles, drapery swag below the dial, on marble plinth inset with wreath mounts to front and sides, on toupie feet DIAL: white enamel with raised gilt fleur-de-lys half hour markers, signed 'Robin/h.ger De La Reine', pierced ormolu criss-cross hands MOVEMENT: twin barrels, with silk suspension to anchor escapement, countwheel strike on bell; mask pendulum
17¼ in. (44 cm.) high; 8¾ in. (22 cm.) wide; 6 in. (15 cm.) deep

Specialist note

Robert Robin (1741-1799) was one of the finest clockmakers of 18th Century France and highly regarded for both the excellence of his work and its ingenuity. He was received as maître in 1767 by decree of the Council exempting him from the apprenticeship qualification, probably because he had already displayed exceptional talent. In 1778 he was appointed Horloger du Duc de Chartres and that same year he was honoured by the Académie des Sciences. Other appointments included Valet de Chambre-Horloger Ordinaire du Roi in 1783 and Valet de Chambre-Horloger Ordinaire de la Reine in 1786. In 1794 he was made clockmaker to the Republic and in 1796 to the Directoire.
A mantel clock of related form is illustrated in P. Kjellberg, Encyclopédie De La Pendule Française du Moyen Age au XXe Siècle, Paris, 1997, p. 184.