101st Auction
2019/11/16
Lot 612
Isaac Thuret, Paris, Height 405 mm, circa 1680
An important Louis XIV miniature pendule with half hour/hour strike, created during the experimental period of the early pendulum clocks; in a typical "tête du poupée"-style case developed by André Charles Boulle
Case: ebonized wood, red tortoiseshell veneer, brass inlays. Dial: gilt brass, florally engraved, signed, gilt brass chapter ring. Movm.: convex shaped brass full plate movement, 2 barrels, 1 hammer / 1 bell, locking plate, verge escapement, vertical blued three-arm balance with fixed short pendulum and additional silk string suspension.
The typical convex-shaped Louis XIV-style rests on an integrated rectangular moulded base with four brass bun feet. The walls are veneered with red tortoiseshell, the front is decorated with brass inlays in "première contre partie" technique. The bell on top sits in a square gilt brass baluster balustrade surmounted by a gilt cast brass figure of a young lady on an elaborate leaf bell cover.
The convex form of the gilt brass dial corresponds to the shape of the case itself and is protected by a glazed front door. Delicate floral engraving decorates the top part of the dial, the sides and the centre; The signature "I. Thuret AParis" sits at the lower end. The applied chapter ring has inlaid Roman hours and Arabic minutes.
The combination of verge pendulum and balance indicates that the clock was intended as a portable model - either between different rooms in the house or even for travel. This remarkable timepiece - created by one of the most renowned French makers - is one of the earliest pendulum clocks we know. The cooperation between Christian Huygens and Isaac Thuret was legendary.
Isaac Thuret (1649-1706) was one of the most important French makers. In 1684 Thuret became Horloger du Roi (Louis XIV) and Horloger de l'Observatoire de Paris and in 1686 was established in the Galeries du Louvre. He maintained the clocks in the Fontainebleau Palace and between 1689 and 1694 also looked after the clocks in the Paris oberservatory and of the Académie des Sciences. On January 22, 1675, he made a watch with the first balance spring for Huygens, pretending it to be his own invention. Later he apologized for this to Huygens. Thuret also made clocks with verge escapement, cycloidal cheeks and seconds-pendulum for Huygens, one of which is preserved in the Museum Boerhaave in Leiden, He also made a great number of "religieuses".
Lit.: H.B. Vehmeyer "Clocks their origin and development 1320-1880", vol II, Wilsele 2004, page 994.
Doll's head clocks, often known by their French name "tête du poupée", were popular in the later half of Louis XIV's reign. They are named for their profile which resembles a head and shoulders. The doll's head clock is almost always ornamented with Boulle marquetry.
This clock by Isaac Thuret is illustrated and described in H.M. Vehmeyer "Clocks their origin and development 1320-1880", vol II, Wilsele 2004, pp 836f.
An important Louis XIV miniature pendule with half hour/hour strike, created during the experimental period of the early pendulum clocks; in a typical "tête du poupée"-style case developed by André Charles Boulle
Case: ebonized wood, red tortoiseshell veneer, brass inlays. Dial: gilt brass, florally engraved, signed, gilt brass chapter ring. Movm.: convex shaped brass full plate movement, 2 barrels, 1 hammer / 1 bell, locking plate, verge escapement, vertical blued three-arm balance with fixed short pendulum and additional silk string suspension.
The typical convex-shaped Louis XIV-style rests on an integrated rectangular moulded base with four brass bun feet. The walls are veneered with red tortoiseshell, the front is decorated with brass inlays in "première contre partie" technique. The bell on top sits in a square gilt brass baluster balustrade surmounted by a gilt cast brass figure of a young lady on an elaborate leaf bell cover.
The convex form of the gilt brass dial corresponds to the shape of the case itself and is protected by a glazed front door. Delicate floral engraving decorates the top part of the dial, the sides and the centre; The signature "I. Thuret AParis" sits at the lower end. The applied chapter ring has inlaid Roman hours and Arabic minutes.
The combination of verge pendulum and balance indicates that the clock was intended as a portable model - either between different rooms in the house or even for travel. This remarkable timepiece - created by one of the most renowned French makers - is one of the earliest pendulum clocks we know. The cooperation between Christian Huygens and Isaac Thuret was legendary.
Isaac Thuret (1649-1706) was one of the most important French makers. In 1684 Thuret became Horloger du Roi (Louis XIV) and Horloger de l'Observatoire de Paris and in 1686 was established in the Galeries du Louvre. He maintained the clocks in the Fontainebleau Palace and between 1689 and 1694 also looked after the clocks in the Paris oberservatory and of the Académie des Sciences. On January 22, 1675, he made a watch with the first balance spring for Huygens, pretending it to be his own invention. Later he apologized for this to Huygens. Thuret also made clocks with verge escapement, cycloidal cheeks and seconds-pendulum for Huygens, one of which is preserved in the Museum Boerhaave in Leiden, He also made a great number of "religieuses".
Lit.: H.B. Vehmeyer "Clocks their origin and development 1320-1880", vol II, Wilsele 2004, page 994.
Doll's head clocks, often known by their French name "tête du poupée", were popular in the later half of Louis XIV's reign. They are named for their profile which resembles a head and shoulders. The doll's head clock is almost always ornamented with Boulle marquetry.
This clock by Isaac Thuret is illustrated and described in H.M. Vehmeyer "Clocks their origin and development 1320-1880", vol II, Wilsele 2004, pp 836f.
estimated
22.000—30.000 €
Price realized
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