Mantel Clock
Maker
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
(French, active from 1756 to the present)
ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS
Date1782-1783
Mediumgilt bronze, porcelain, glass, enamel, brass, steel, painting on ivory
Dimensions25 3/8 x 18 1/2 x 7 1/8 in. (64.5 x 47 x 18.1 cm.)
DescriptionThis elaborate gilt bronze clock is mounted with porcelain plaques and is topped with a miniature portrait of Archbishop Maximilian of Cologne, painted on ivory.
Architectural motifs, including two sets of paired Doric columns, a cornice, and a base create the appearance of a small temple or triumphal entryway. Between these elements are porcelain plaques painted with delicate flowers, cherubs, and a rooster. Above the clockface, two putti support the framed miniature of Archbishop Maximilian of Cologne, son of Empress Marie-Therese of Austria and the Holy Roman Empire and Elector of Cologne, who gave this clock to Clemens Wenceslaus, Archbishop Elector of Trier, in 1785. The Archbishop wears an ermine mantle over his red robes. Behind him is a faded column. Beside him, he places his hand on his hat and a cross of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.
Signed1. Sotiau AParis on dial
2. 1782, 1783 inscribed on movement
3. springs inscribed Monginot mai 1783
4. repairer's mark: Schmidt, 14 Teubner, Dresden 27. 6. 1879.
5. Central porcelain plaque: interlaced Ls; EE for 1782; K for Charles-Nicolas Dodin, (1734-1803, porcelain painter); 2000 for Henry-FrancoisVincent, jeune, (1733-1809?, gilder); inscribed haut/Bordure/Verte. Front painted with putto emblematic of Astronomy holding a book entitled, CONNAISSANCE DES TEMPS.
6. Lower central plaque: interlaced Ls; date letter illegible; # for Michel-Barnabé Chauveau âiné,(b.1730, active 1752-1788, gilder); fleur-de-lys for Vincent Taillandier (1736-1790, active 1753-90, painter, gilder and burnisher); cp for Antoine-Joseph Chappuis, (1743-1787, active 1756-87, bird and flower painter); inscribed Bordure/Verte
7. Haut bordure verte inscribed on several of the remaining plaques
8. Duveen stock number: M.76
MarkingsPlaque with cherub bears the date letter for 1782. There is an unclear date letter on the bottom center plaque.
From right to left, top to bottom:
1: Black cross on top of plaque; below the cross, haut bordure verte
2: Black cross on top of plaque; below the cross, may be "haut bordure verte"
3: (cherub) Black cross on top of plaque; below the cross, haut / bordure / verte / 2000 / two interlacing 'E's / 'K'
4: This plaque is marked upside down. Black cross on bottom of plaque; above the cross, haut bordure verte, written upside down.
5: very difficult to see 'v'
6: Black cross, haut bordure vert, very faded.
7: Black cross, haut bordure vert, very faded.
8: (rooster) Black cross / haut / bordure / vert / cp / dare mark (EE interlaced), fleur.
9: (upside down?) black cross
10: (upside down?) black cross
There are pencil marks, different from other marks, on 9 &10.
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. The Arabella D. Huntington Memorial Art Collection.
Label TextThis clock, the most significant in the Huntington collection, has an esteemed pedigree. It was made for Prince Maximilian of Hapsburg, the last elector and archbishop of Cologne, who is depicted in the upper medallion wearing ermine-trimmed robes. As brother to Marie-Antoinette of France, Maximilian developed a taste for Parisian luxury goods, particularly porcelain-mounted objects like this clock. Bought by Henry Huntington over a century later, it became a most suitable addition to the memorial collection he formed in honor of his wife Arabella, a devotee of the ill-fated queen.Status
On viewObject number27.110
John Francis Rigaud
ca. 1786
Object number: 2008.14
