A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU-MOUNTED BLUE SÈVRES PORCELAIN AND WHITE MARBLE MANTEL CLOCK circa 1785-90, the dial signed Kinable à Paris

Marble base with some chips, abrasions and surface dirt. Ormolu mounts detach. Dial with some very minor chips at winding holes. Bead-cast ormolu mount on inner edge of lyre body on left side partially detached and lacking on the same side along the outer edge on top as visible in illustration. Ormolu with rubbing, oxidation and surface dirt.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The first lyre-shaped clocks, which can be perceived as the precursors to skeleton clocks, were made in Sèvres in 1785 in beau bleu, turquoise, green and pink ground colors. On January 4, 1786, at the end-of-year's sales held in the King's private apartments at Versailles, Louis XVI purchased a pair of blue-ground versions of this model at a cost of 384 livres. There are records of subsequent sales of clocks of this model to various other clients, most of them selling for the lesser amount of 168 livres. The creator of the design for these lyre clocks is unknown, though an unattributed drawing of this model exists in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated Mary. L. Myers, French Architectural and Ornamental Drawings of the Eighteenth Century, 1992, p. 204, no. 121. As the dials and movements were often numbered or dated, it appears that clocks of this model were produced until 1816. The clockmaker Dieudonné Kinable (died circa 1815) was one of the largest buyers of such cases from Sèvres and is known to have acquired at least nineteen of them in all four color variations. Kinable, who was established at Palais Royal no. 131, worked closely with the enamellers Joseph Coteau (1740-1801) and Etienne Gobin, known as Dubuisson (1731-1815). In fact, Kinable specialized in clocks incorporating polychrome enamel and porcelain. A lyre clock by Kinable fitted with an enamel dial by Dubuisson was sold Segoura, Christie's New York, October 19, 2006, lot 124. Another clock of this model formerly in the collection of Lily and Edmond J. Safra was sold Sotheby's New York, October 20-21, 2011, lot 974.