This auction has ended. View lot details
You may also be interested in
Lot 34
A good early 19th century French matt and burnished ormolu, and patinated bronze Harlequin clock Movement numbered 1005. 3
11 December 2019, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £12,562.50 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Clocks specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
Shipping (UK)
A good early 19th century French matt and burnished ormolu, and patinated bronze Harlequin clock
Movement numbered 1005.
The case depicting Harlequin in his patterned suit and hat, leaning slightly on one leg and supporting on his hips a model of a weight driven cuckoo clock with a bird in the arch flanked by cornucopia, on a plinth base decorated with the fable of the Monkey and the Cat, the 2.75 inch white enamel Roman dial with minute track and blued-steel 'Breguet style' moon hands surrounded by a cast bezel, the numbered circular movement united by four turned pillars, with silk suspended pendulum to the anchor escapement, and outside count wheel strike on the bell. Ticking and striking, together with the numbered pendulum (1005) and a winding key. 36cms (14ins) high (3)
The case depicting Harlequin in his patterned suit and hat, leaning slightly on one leg and supporting on his hips a model of a weight driven cuckoo clock with a bird in the arch flanked by cornucopia, on a plinth base decorated with the fable of the Monkey and the Cat, the 2.75 inch white enamel Roman dial with minute track and blued-steel 'Breguet style' moon hands surrounded by a cast bezel, the numbered circular movement united by four turned pillars, with silk suspended pendulum to the anchor escapement, and outside count wheel strike on the bell. Ticking and striking, together with the numbered pendulum (1005) and a winding key. 36cms (14ins) high (3)
Footnotes
Harlequin was a principal member of the Commedia del' Arte. The fable of the Monkey and the Cat tells the story of a monkey persuading a cat to pull chestnuts from the hot embers of the fire, to share with him. As the cat scoops them from the fire he burns his paws, whilst the monkey gobbles them up. The meaning of the fable is warning against carrying out the dirty work of others.
Comparative literature:
Niehüser, E. (1999) French Bronze Clocks. Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, p.168.
La Pendule Francaise, 2me Partie: Du Louis XVI a nos jours. 1962. Paris: Tardy, p.231.