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Lot 82
An early 19th century French gilt and patinated bronze 'pendule au sauvage' Gaston Jolly, Paris
8 July 2015, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £11,875 inc. premium
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An early 19th century French gilt and patinated bronze 'pendule au sauvage'
Gaston Jolly, Paris
Depicting the characters 'Paul et Virginie' from Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's novel of the same name, first published in 1788, the couple and a dog modelled seated on a litter raised on the shoulders of two African figures, the plinth base inset with a low relief scene of their shipwreck between applied palm fronds and fruiting vines, the signed 5 inch Roman and Arabic dial suspended beneath the litter, with shaped gilt hands and beaded bezel, the twin train drum movement with silk suspension and outside countwheel strike on a bell. 46cm (18.5in)
Depicting the characters 'Paul et Virginie' from Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre's novel of the same name, first published in 1788, the couple and a dog modelled seated on a litter raised on the shoulders of two African figures, the plinth base inset with a low relief scene of their shipwreck between applied palm fronds and fruiting vines, the signed 5 inch Roman and Arabic dial suspended beneath the litter, with shaped gilt hands and beaded bezel, the twin train drum movement with silk suspension and outside countwheel strike on a bell. 46cm (18.5in)
Footnotes
The design of the clock is based on one commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte for Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, in admiration of his novel, the original model by Pierre-Phillipe Thomire modelled the bearers as athletic figures very much in the classical tradition. The current lot differs in its treatment of the litter bearers, sharing many characteristics with known clocks by Jean-Simon Deverberie in the treatment of the facial features and costume, especially the beaded waistband and superimposed layers of feathers.
The current lot sits amongst a group of clocks commonly known as 'pendule au bon sauvage' designed and produced by makers including Jean-Simon Deverberie, Jean Francois Reiche and others. These clocks illustrate the European fascination with the exotic and, in their eyes, the unadulterated and untamed natural world much written about during the 18th and 19th centuries by authors such as Defoe, Swift and de Saint-Pierre.
Set in colonial Mauritius the story describes the lives of two children raised by their respective mothers who have both left France in disgrace. The children are raised as siblings amongst idyllic tropical surroundings, but in young adulthood they fall in love, upon which they are separated by their mothers. Virginie is sent to a wealthy relative in France, while Paul remains on Mauritius. Both are left bereft. Virginie later returns but in sight of the island is caught in a storm and shipwrecked. Refusing to leave the ship she is drowned.
The novel was a critique of contemporary aristocratic French culture and its destructive nature, in contrast with the uncorrupted and egalitarian world of Paul and Virginie.