100th Auction
2019/11/15
Lot 55
Fd. Grandperrin, 394 Rue St. Honoré, Paris, Height 670 mm, circa 1855
An important astronomical table clock with planetarium and planespherium - made for the World exhibition in Paris 1855 - with full calendar, half hour/hour strike, moon age and moon phase and one month power reserve
Case: bronze, firegilt, glass dome for planetarium, glazed on all sides, richly decorated base with sound holes. Dial: enamel chapter rings, inside a table of equation of time, signed "Valat" on the back, three subsidiary dials for indications of the weekday, month and date. Movm.: solid rectangular brass plate movement, signed, punch mark "AB", 1 hammer / 1 bell, 2 large barrels, pin wheel escapement with adjustable stone pallets, steel pendulum rod with brass bob, pendulum spring suspension.
The front of this remarkable astronomical pendulum clock is exquisitely engraved with the symbols of research - a telescope, a pair of compasses, a goniometer and a globe; according to the inscription on the movement the clock was exhibited at the industrial exhibition of 1855 in Paris, which is also verified by the entry in the original exhibition catalogue. The heavy clock case is supported by columns and lavishly ornamented – most spectacular, however, are colouring and execution of the 15 cm large, magnificently blue enamel disc which displays constellations and signs of the zodiac over the year. Like the dial that is signed on the back, the disc was most likely made by Valat. Below this planisphere sits the model of the planets, which is protected by a glass dome and exhibits Earth and the Moon; the other planets visible to the naked eye - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn - are represented by stars. Earth (where the pinion needs replacing) has a size of approximately 13 mm and shows the exact outlines of the continents; a silvered ring with the annual calendar and the signs of the zodiac surrounds the model.
According to Tardy, Ferdinand Grandperrin worked in Paris at 394 Rue St. Honoré from 1804 on. In 1860 A. Gervais became his successor.
An important astronomical table clock with planetarium and planespherium - made for the World exhibition in Paris 1855 - with full calendar, half hour/hour strike, moon age and moon phase and one month power reserve
Case: bronze, firegilt, glass dome for planetarium, glazed on all sides, richly decorated base with sound holes. Dial: enamel chapter rings, inside a table of equation of time, signed "Valat" on the back, three subsidiary dials for indications of the weekday, month and date. Movm.: solid rectangular brass plate movement, signed, punch mark "AB", 1 hammer / 1 bell, 2 large barrels, pin wheel escapement with adjustable stone pallets, steel pendulum rod with brass bob, pendulum spring suspension.
The front of this remarkable astronomical pendulum clock is exquisitely engraved with the symbols of research - a telescope, a pair of compasses, a goniometer and a globe; according to the inscription on the movement the clock was exhibited at the industrial exhibition of 1855 in Paris, which is also verified by the entry in the original exhibition catalogue. The heavy clock case is supported by columns and lavishly ornamented – most spectacular, however, are colouring and execution of the 15 cm large, magnificently blue enamel disc which displays constellations and signs of the zodiac over the year. Like the dial that is signed on the back, the disc was most likely made by Valat. Below this planisphere sits the model of the planets, which is protected by a glass dome and exhibits Earth and the Moon; the other planets visible to the naked eye - Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn - are represented by stars. Earth (where the pinion needs replacing) has a size of approximately 13 mm and shows the exact outlines of the continents; a silvered ring with the annual calendar and the signs of the zodiac surrounds the model.
According to Tardy, Ferdinand Grandperrin worked in Paris at 394 Rue St. Honoré from 1804 on. In 1860 A. Gervais became his successor.
Sold
estimated
200.000—300.000 €
Price realized
275.000 €