97th Auction

2018/5/12

Lot 607

Lesieur à Paris, Height 620 mm, circa 1810
A unique Empire mantel clock with half hour / hour self strike "Urania"
Case: bronze, firegilt, marble base. Dial: enamel chapter ring. Movm.: circular brass full plate movement, 8 days power reserve, 2 barrels, 1 hammer / 1 bell, count wheel, lever escapement, silk suspended short pendulum.
The gilded bronze sculpture is a marvellous representation of Urania, the muse of astronomy; she leans on a celestial globe and holds a compass in her right hand. The globe is surrounded by the signs of the zodiac and ornamented with applied stars - it rests on an allegory of the winds represented by four Zephyrs. The base is made of sea green marble and ornamented with a frieze showing three putti and their tools.
This heavy bronze pendulum clock is remarkable for several reasons. The Urania motif was very popular in the early 19th century (preferably in combination with Egyptian style elements), but the statue is usually positioned on the right side of the tableau - here we have Urania on the left, the only known pendulum clock with such an arrangement. This is also the only known piece where the bronze is signed with François Rabiat’s plaque.
Claude-François Rabiat (1756-1815) was one of a very small number of bronze artists in the imperial era; only now are their pieces being identified. Rabiat began his career in 1769 as an apprentice in the workshop of gilder and silversmith Etienne Vignerelle and became a master "gilder of metal objects" in March 1778. Based in 41, Rue Beaubourg in Paris, Rabiat had a very successful business that exclusively supplied retailers such as André Coquille and Thémet as well as clockmakers such as Bailly, Mallet, Lépine and of course Lesieur. He also delivered several objects to the imperial furniture depot. After his death his three sons continued the business under the name "Rabiat frères" until they started their own companies after 1819.
We know of at least two makers in Paris by the name of Lesieur, who were both active between 1790 and 1850. There are a number of timepieces that are signed "Lesieur" and show, that he was a renowned clockmaker who among other pieces produced clocks with astronomical complications and had aristocratic clients from all over Europe.

Sold

estimated
14.00020.000 €
Price realized
11.200 €