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Period French Empire clock "Student and the Sciences"The dial inscribed LeRoy a Paris, of dark-bronze and gilt-bronze on a plinth of red (griotte) marble. A draped female figure in dark patinated bronze leans in contemplation on a draped pedestal (in gilt bronze) in which the clock is set. Her right hand holds a scroll, her left elbow is placed on a pile of three books. The two uppermost, with their spines facing the viewer, are inscribed with there titles PHY TOM and ASTRO TOM. The cock of Aesculapius below the dial and the torches which flank it represent medical learning. The gilt bronze frieze inset in the face of the marble plinth portrays a group of children studying the sciences and the arts of drawing and sculpture. The magnificent case, a female figure placed at the side of a pedestal holding the clock and set on a solid marble base, is characteristic of the work of Pierre-Victor Ledure. Literature: Tardy, "Les Plus Belles Pendules Francaises", 1994, p 252; Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Proschel, 'Vergoldete Bronzen" 1986, p 349, illustrating an identical clock case by Ledure, 1814 in the British Embassy, Paris. Elke Niehuser, "Die Franzoische Bronzeuhr" 1997, p. 233. As one of the leading bronziers of the early ninetheenth century, Pierre-Victor Ledure (1783- post 1840) received important commissions and enjoyed the patronage from a wealthy international clientele. Amoung them was the Archduke of Tuscany, the Duke of Franken, who in 1813 gave him a large order for bronze furnishings for his residence in Wurzburg. Other identical or near identical examples can be found at the Royal Pavilion, Brighton, the Palais Viana in Madrid, and at Schlosserverwaltung, Munich. The movement was made by the esteemed Parisian clockmaker Charles Le Roy (1765 - 1839). Dimensions: 27.5"H; (base 16"x7") Select image to enlarge |
