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Directoire Skeleton Clock, with Enamels Attributed to Joseph Coteau

About the Item

Enamels attributed to Joseph Coteau Gilt Bronze, Enamel and Marble Skeleton Clock Paris, Directoire period, circa 1795 Height 53 cm, width 28 cm, depth 12 cm An extremely beautiful Directoire gilt bronze, enamel and white marble skeleton clock, with three dials, each with beaded bezel, the main white enamel dial ring with Arabic numerals and an outer calendar ring numbered 1-31 with inner days of the week and their respective signs, with a fine pair of pierced gilt bronze hands for the hours and minutes and two blued steel pointers indicating the date and days of the week. The main dial is surmounted by a moon phase dial marked 1-29 ½ with a grisaille moon set against a blue gilt star-studded sky above clouds, with a second subsidiary dial below the main dial showing the months, the zodiac signs and the four seasons, each indicated by a blued steel pointer. The main dial with a cut-out centre revealing the twin barrel skeletonised eight-day movement, with pin wheel escapement, knife-edge suspension, striking on the hour and half hour on a single bell, with outside count wheel. The magnificent pendulum depicts an Apollo mask with sunrays. The case is surmounted by an eagle with outstretched wings that grasps a thunderbolt in its claws: the personification of Jupiter. The sides of the lunar and main dials are ornamented by trailing fruit and floral garlands; the main dial rests on a shaped blue enamel frame enclosing four gilt and polychrome painted hunting scenes above a pair of painted temples, the frame flanked by gilt bronze cornucopias and a maidens who are playing the trumpet and dancing. The arched frame, resting on urn-shaped feet, set on a rectangular white marble base decorated with beaded borders and a gilt bronze frieze in the style of Clodion depicting playing putti. The whole is raised upon gilt bronze toupie feet. A comparable Directoire skeleton clock with enamels by Joseph Coteau, today in the Paris Musée des Arts Décoratifs, is illustrated in Tardy, Les Plus Belles Pendules Françaises, 1994, p. 206, colour pl. XLII. A similar skeleton clock signed Ridel à Paris, with enamels by Joseph Coteau dated 1796 and a similar frieze in the style of Clodion, today in the Musée François Duesberg in Mons, Belgium, is illustrated in Pierre Kjellberg, Encyclopédie de la Pendule Française du Moyen Age au XXe Siècle, 1997, p. 319, pl. B. Another comparable skeleton clock by Ridel à Paris is shown in Johann Willsberger, Clocks and Watches, 600 Years of the World’s Most Beautiful Timepieces, 1975, introductory page. A similar clock dated 1796, with dial signed Laguesse à Liège and enamel work by Joseph Coteau, is in the Pavlovsk Palace in Saint Petersburg (inv. no. 4177-IV; illustrated in Emmanuel Ducamp, Pavlovsk, Les Collections, 1993, p. 186, pl. 17). Like the present clock, it has three dials, is surmounted by an eagle upon a thunderbolt and has the same gilt bronze frieze on its base. That clock, the one by Ridel in the Musée François Duesberg, and another by Ridel (illustrated in Richard Redding Masterpieces of the Past, 2009, p. 40-41), all have enamels by Coteau that are dated 1796. The similarities between these clocks and the exceptional quality of the present clock’s enamel work allow the attribution of this clock’s enamels to Coteau as well. Joseph Coteau (1740-1801) came from Geneva but worked in Paris, where he was established in the rue Poupée, St. André des Arts ; he became a maître in 1778. In 1780 he was appointed Peintre-émailleur du roi et de la Manufacture Royale de Porcelaine de Sèvres ; over the next few years he did piece-work there while working as an independent painter in Paris, specializing in enamel watchcases and clock dials. By 1784 he was no longer working for Sèvres and continued to supply fine dials, plaques and enamel cases to important Parisian clockmakers.

Attributed to:
Joseph Coteau (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 20.87 in (53 cm)Width: 11.03 in (28 cm)Depth: 4.73 in (12 cm)
Style:
Directoire (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze,Enamel,Marble,Gilt
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1790-1799
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1795
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Certificate of authenticity. Original gilding and movement Fully overhauled upon sale.
Seller Location:
Paris, FR
Reference Number:
Seller: P0421stDibs: LU142422649052

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