Gilt Bronze Neoclassical Louis XVI “Cercles Tournants” Vase Clock by Osmond

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About the Item

Robert Osmond Rare Chased and Gilt Bronze Neo-classical “Cercles Tournants” Vase Clock Paris, early Louis XVI period, circa 1770 Height 46 cm; width 17.3 x depth 17.3 cm Signed Osmond The case of this clock is made of finely chased gilt bronze; the name of the renowned bronzier Robert Osmond is punched on the back of the base. It features two superimposed turning dials made up of enamel cartouches indicating, respectively, the hours in Roman numerals and the minutes in Arabic numerals. The dials are incorporated in a lidded antique-style vase that is finely chased with an egg and dart frieze, acanthus leaves, and a coiled snake whose tongue indicates the time; the angular handles are finely fluted; the vase is surmounted by a pinecone finial. The moulded base, adorned with a ribbon-tied laurel torus frieze, rests on a square plinth that is in turn supported by a truncated column with inlaid fluting, decorated by a chased drapery swag and a laurel torus. The whole rests upon a square base. The fashion for antique-vase clocks began in Paris during the second half of the 18th century, when it caught on among the important collectors of the day. The model featured a particularly elegant “cercles tournants” dial, markedly different from the round enamel dial of which certain collectors had grown weary. Several examples of this type of clock are known today, however only a very few are as graceful and well proportioned as the present example. A similar clock in gilt and patinated bronze is illustrated in J-D. Augarde, Les ouvriers du Temps, Genève, 1996, p. 108; a second example with two snakes is in the Pavlovsk Palace (see “De Saint-Pétersbourg à Montbéliard…L’horlogerie décorative au Palais de Pavlovsk”, in ANCAHA, Autumn 1995, n° 74, p. 44); another comparable clock is pictured in Ruth T. Costantino, How to know French Antiques, 1961, p. 156. Identical clocks are pictured in H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Die Bronzearbeiten des Spätbarock und Klassizismus, Band I, Munich, 1986, p. 194, fig. 3.12.2 (p. 195 of the same book shows the preparatory sketch, today in the Paris Institut d’Histoire de l’Art); another, now in the Zähringer Museum in Baden-Baden, is pictured in Pierre Verlet, Les bronzes dorés français du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1999, p. 110, fig. 131. Robert Osmond (1711-1789) French bronze-caster Robert Osmond was born in Canisy, near Saint-Lô; he began his apprenticeship in the workshop of Louis Regnard, maître fondeur en terre et en sable, and became a master bronzier in Paris in 1746. He is recorded as working in the rue des Canettes in the St Sulpice parish, moving to the rue de Mâcon in 1761. Robert Osmond became a juré, thus gaining a certain degree of protection of his creative rights. In 1753, he sent for his nephew in Normandy, and in 1761, the workshop, which by that time had grown considerably, moved to the rue de Macon. The nephew, Jean-Baptiste Osmond (1742-after 1790) became a master in 1764 and as of that date worked closely with his uncle, to such a degree that it is difficult to differentiate between the contributions of each. Robert appears to have retired around 1775. Jean-Baptiste, who remained in charge of the workshop after the retirement of his uncle, encountered difficulties and went bankrupt in 1784. Robert Osmond died in 1789. Prolific bronze casters and chasers, the Osmonds worked with equal success in both the Louis XV and the Neo-classical styles. Prized by connoisseurs of the period, their work was distributed by clockmakers and marchands-merciers. Although they made all types of furnishing objects, including fire dogs, wall lights and inkstands, the only extant works by them are clocks, including one depicting the Rape of Europe (Getty Museum, California) in the Louis XV style and two important Neo-classical forms, of which there are several examples, as well as a vase with lions' heads (Musée Condé, Chantilly and the Cleveland Museum of Art) and a cartel-clock with chased ribbons (examples in the Stockholm Nationalmuseum; Paris, Nissim de Camondo Museum). A remarkable clock decorated with a globe, cupids and a Sèvres porcelain plaque (Paris, Louvre) is another of their notable works. Specialising at first in the rocaille style, in the early 1760’s they turned to the new Neo-classical style and soon numbered among its greatest practitioners. They furnished cases to the best clockmakers of the period, such as Montjoye, for whom they made cases for cartonnier and column clocks, the column being one of the favourite motifs of the Osmond workshop.

Creator:
Robert Osmond (Cabinetmaker)
Dimensions:
Height: 18.12 in (46 cm)Width: 6.82 in (17.3 cm)Depth: 6.82 in (17.3 cm)
Style:
Louis XVI (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze,Gilt
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
1770-1779
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1770
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: P0281stDibs: LU142422607072

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