Live Auction 10689The Opulent Eye - 19th Century Furniture, Sculpture & Works of Art
A LARGE FRENCH ORMOLU MANTEL CLOCK
Lot 235 Property from a Private American Collection 

A LARGE FRENCH ORMOLU MANTEL CLOCK

BY FERDINAND BARBEDIENNE, THE DESIGN BY LOUIS-CONSTANT SÉVIN, PARIS, LAST QUARTER 19TH CENTURY

Closed11 March 2015

Price Realised

GBP 15,000

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A LARGE FRENCH ORMOLU MANTEL CLOCK
BY FERDINAND BARBEDIENNE, THE DESIGN BY LOUIS-CONSTANT SÉVIN, PARIS, LAST QUARTER 19TH CENTURY
Surmounted by a figure of Neptune, over an architectural glass clock case applied with masks and trailing foliage, the dial with enamelled Roman numerals, one signed 'F. Barbedienne' and another 'A Paris', with twin-barrel movement, Brocot suspension regulation and rack strike to gong, the movement stamped 'J.E. DUPONT PARIS,' and '9658' with Apollo sun-burst pendulum, raised on a stepped rectangular plinth, the reverse of the case inscribed 'F. BARBEDIENNE. FONDEUR. PARIS.'
49¾ in. (126.5 cm.) high; 25¼ in. (64 cm.) wide; 11 3/8 in. (29 cm.) deep

Property from a Massachusetts Estate; Christie’s, New York, 21-22 October 2010, lot 173 ($40,000).

Specialist note

Ferdinand Barbedienne presided over one of the most renowned and prolific foundries of Belle Époque Paris. His atelier created sculptures, clocks, bronze mounts and objets d’art of the highest quality, and his works were shown at numerous international exhibitions of the period. A model of the present clock, reprising the Berainesque decoration of the cabinetry of André-Charles Boulle and the sun-burst mounts frequently seen on furniture made during the Ancien Régime – was shown at the 1889 Exposition universelle in Paris.

Louis-Constant Sévin (d. 1888) worked as chief designer at Barbedienne for 23 years from 1855 and created the most varied and innovative objects for Barbedienne’s awe-inspiring displays at the international exhibitions and for his most prestigious commissions, 'les bronzes du roi de Hollande, les bains du roi des Belges, la chapelle et le tombeau du prince Albert à Frogmore, les candelabres du Kremlin, les portes du tombeau de Nicolas à Odessa…’ (V. Champier, Revue des Arts Décoratifs, Neuvième année, 1888-89, p. 174).