A Napoleon III Gilt-Bronze Mantel Clock, ‘Pendule à Cercles Tournants’, By Jean-François Denière, Paris.
Of imposing scale, surrounded by four winged putti and garlands of flowers in clouds enveloping a bleu celeste tole star-studded sphere. On a shaped base with a wreath and courting doves. The square-plated movement with Brocot escapement and outside count wheel striking on a bell.
Stamped to the backplate ‘Deniere A Paris’ and numbered ‘2385’.
France, Circa 1860.
This clock, magnificent of scale and conception, numbers amongst Denière’s most impressive creations. Denière delivered clocks to the Emperor at the château du Fontainebleau in 1857 and 1861. Both are modelled with playful cherubs pulling foliate garlands which show the same designer as those to the present clock. They can be attributed to the sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (1824 –1887) who from the 1850s produced for Denière models for candelabra, clocks, jardinieres and fireplace ornaments.
Inspired by the Louis XVI style, the present clock with celestial sphere enclosing a complex rotating clock movement, is superior and more ambitious than either of the clocks supplied to the Emperor. Here, the cloudborne cherubs are a celebration of the coming of spring and by association love, as heralded by the flowers and courting doves
Maison Denière
Jean-François Denière (1774–1866) founded his Parisian bronze workshop at the end of the eighteenth century, establishing a highly successful firm that flourished under the Empire and the reign of Louis Philippe. Alongside Pierre-Philippe Thomire, he was a leading proponent of the Egyptian taste in decorative arts and was appointed Supplier to the King in 1822, serving distinguished clients including the Duchess of Berry and the Spanish royal court.
In 1844, his son Guillaume Denière (1815–1903) joined the firm, renamed Denière et fils, expanding its production of clocks, furniture bronzes, candelabra, and centrepieces. Collaborating with leading artists including Carrier-Belleuse and Constant Sévin, the firm received important commissions for the Tuileries Palace, Saïd Pacha of Egypt, and other international patrons.
Renowned for exceptional craftsmanship, Denière et fils exhibited at the great nineteenth-century international exhibitions, including London in 1862 and Paris in 1867. Today, the firm is recognised among the foremost Parisian bronziers of the nineteenth century, with examples preserved in major collections including the Royal Collection Trust.
Exhibition Catalogue, The Second Empire 1852-1870: Art in France under Napoleon III, Paris, 1978, Il-37 p. 118.
Tardy, French Clocks the World Over, 1981, vol. II, p. 100 (For a related 18th century model with two putti supporting a sphere representing heaven).
By appointment only.
