A gilt-bronze and Imari porcelain-mounted mantel clock, the movement signed C. D. G Mesnil à Paris, probably supplied by the marchand-mercier Thomas Joachim Hébert, Louis XIV, early 18th century, the porcelain Japan, Edo period, late 17th century

the hexagonal dial with blue and white cartouche enamel numerals on a foliate engraved brass ground, the bell striking movement with verge escapement, silk suspension, numbered outside count wheel, signed on the backplate C.D.G. Mesnil A Paris, the Japanese Kutani porcelain mounted case decorated with stylised trellis and Greek-key design surmounted by a reclining divinity flanked by trails of gilt-bronze roses, supported on an Imari figure of Hotei, the joyful immortal seated on his sack wearing a feathered gilt-bronze turban and draped in a black robe falling loosely around his bare stomach and torso, all above a gilt-bronze band of feathers on a pierced octagonal base decorated with flowers and clouds on scrolled feet cast with a grotesque mask, the underside of the Hotei with the European inventory mark in ink C6II; the porcelain figure restored

In overall good conserved condition. Good colour match with photograph, however, the gilding is slightly more golden, natural and attractive than in the catalogue photograph.The dial is in good condition with good original steel hands. The movement is dirty and will require complete service and overhaul, the quarter repeating work has been completely removed and the bell is replaced but otherwise retaining the original wheelwork. With pendulum and a winder. Good quality casting and chasing to the gilt-bronze. There is surface dirt on the gilt-bronze mounts especially on the base which would benefit from a light clean according to taste. The figure is in reasonable condition. Some minor cracks and firing cracks to the figure generally but these do not detract from the piece.There is a small area of retouching/repair to the area adjacent to the left hand where the end of the sack runs through the fingers. There are some areas of minor glaze flaking to the black robe. There is a small shallow chip (1cm by 8mm) to the top of the head beside the left hand hole that supports the clock. There is also discolouration/dirt to areas of the head hidden by the turban. There is some areas of restoration to the green enamelled base.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. All dimensions in catalogue descriptions are approximate. Condition reports may not specify mechanical replacements or imperfections to the movement, case, dial, pendulum, separate base(s) or dome. Watches in water-resistant cases have been opened to examine movements but no warranties are made that the watches are currently water-resistant. Please note that we do not guarantee the authenticity of any individual component parts, such as wheels, hands, crowns, crystals, screws, bracelets and leather bands, since subsequent repairs and restoration work may have resulted in the replacement of original parts. 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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. In particular, please note it is the purchaser's responsibility to comply with any applicable import and export matters, particularly in relation to lots incorporating materials from endangered species.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

**Please be advised that bands made of materials derived from endangered or otherwise protected species (i.e. alligator and crocodile) are not sold with the watches and are for display purposes only. We reserve the right to remove these bands prior to shipping.

Important Notice regarding importation into the United States of Rolex watches
Sotheby's cannot arrange for the delivery of Rolex watches to the United States because U.S. laws restricts the import of Rolex watches. The buyer or a designated agent may collect the property in the country of sale."

Comparative Literature:
Jean-Dominique Augarde, Les Ouvriers du Temps, La Pendule a Paris de Louis XIV à Napoleon I, Wallace Collection, p. 297.
John Ayers, Oliver Impey, J.V.G. Mallet, Porcelain for Palaces, The Fashion for Japan in Europe 1650-1750, London, 1990, p. 128, fig. 91.

This extremely rare and to date unique clock epitomises the taste for oriental objects so prevalent in 18th century France. The marchands-merciers commissioned these types of objects for the delectation of their aristocratic and wealthy clients. Hébert  was the main marchand-mercier for whom C.D.G. Mesnil supplied clockcases. This clock is a very rare combination of two different type of Japanese porcelain, Imari for the figure and Kutani for the hexagonal case and a Parisian clock movement.

Another Japanese porcelain mounted hexagonal clock, with identical mounts on the case to the dial and a similar engraved dial, but unfortunately missing the porcelain figure and base, is in the Musée du Louvre, Paris, illustrated by Augarde, op. cit., p. 297, reproduced here in fig. 1. The movement is by Jacques Cogniet and it is described as `Chinese porcelain and gilt-bronze’' made around 1725-1730, for the Prince de Condé, its lower part was originally with a seated porcelain figure for which the present gilt-bronze base by Chaumont was substituted in 1836. Chaumont was also the maker of the bronze owl above the dial. See also a French ormolu-mounted mantel clock adapted with 17th century Japanese porcelain figures, sold in our Paris rooms, Arts d’Asie, 18th December 2008, lot 268.

It is worth noting a Japanese Kendi `drinking vessel’, dating from the late 17^th century, illustrated by Ayers et al., op. cit., p. 128, no. 91, with a Hotei on the side in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. This figure of a laughing Buddha, sometimes called a magot in European decorative art, can be identified as the god of good fortune in Japanese mythology. The joyful divinity is usually depicted wearing a loosely fitted robe opened to reveal his generous stomach, carrying all his belongings in a calico bag. Tracing back his origin to the Chinese Buddhist monk Budai Chanshi (The Buddhist Monk with the Calico Bag), Hotei is traditionally associated with happiness and the protection of children, often depicted with small children climbing on his stomach or back, playfully pulling at his long earlobe and waiting for him to present them with sweets and treats from his bag. Compare the enamels on the figure with those found on the ‘porcelain figure on a tortoise’ and on a pair of ‘young boys carrying gourd and seated on a drum’ from The Burghley House Collection, both dated to the years 1660-1680, illustrated in Ayers, Impey and Mallet op. cit., fig. 158 and 162.

Another example of this rare early Imari figure of Hotei, dressed in a white robe, was sold in our Amsterdam rooms, 14th November 2005, lot 14. For a Chinese porcelain prototype of the same figure, see a 17th century example from the Edouard T. Chow collection, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, Part III, 19th May 1981. Compare also a Yuan/Ming Qingbai porcelain figure of Budai, sold Christie’s New York, 23rd March 2012, lot 1974.

The trade in Japanese porcelain in Europe: 
By the mid-17^th century, export of porcelain from Jingdezhen in China, which had been the traditional supply source of Oriental ceramics to the Middle East and Europe since the 14^th century, came almost to a halt as it became disrupted by the civil wars that led to the fall of the Ming Dynasty and the establishment of the Qing Dynasty by the Mandchus. During this transition period, British and Dutch traders had to look for an alternative supply. Therefore they turned to Japan where porcelain had been produced since the early 17^th century, and where the Dutch East India Company - 'V.O.C'- was operating a trading ‘factory’ on the small island of Deshima, off the coast of Nagasaki, since the 1640’s. The records of the V.O.C show that the first shipment of Japanese porcelain to Europe, a sample group consisting of mostly enamelled wares, occurred in 1657. It was not until 1659 that the first sizeable order of porcelain took place. Comprising a mere 65,000 pieces, it took two years to complete, reaching the port of Amsterdam in 1660. This episode is traditionally considered the start of Japanese porcelain trade to Europe. 

Although this shipment comprised mostly plates, bowls and pots of variously adapted western forms, it also included some pieces of distinctive Japanese shape, as well as porcelain figures and animals. This cargo was followed by numerous others up to the second quarter of the 18^th century. From then on, the trade of Japanese porcelains began to experience a decline in face of strong competition from other sources. China had since reorganized its production in Jingdezhen, and European factories had progressively copied the oriental decorations (and vice-versa) following discovery of the secret for producing hard paste porcelain in Meissen in 1708.

Parisian marchands-merciers were among the various clients who attended the cargoes’ auctions in Amsterdam and London upon their return from the East. They would acquire oriental porcelains and later mount them in gilt-bronze or adapt them as separate elements to create ingenuous works of arts in the ‘Chinoiserie’ style. The present clock is a fine example of such craftsmanship. The prices of Japanese porcelain was in fact higher than those of the Chinese, as evidenced by the minute records of the East Indiaman Dashwood auction in London in 1703 showing that the price of the Japanese pieces could fetch up to ten times the price of their Chinese equivalents.

The tradition in the West has long been to designate Japanese blue and white porcelain as ‘Arita wares’ while enameled pieces were categorized as either ‘Imari’ or ‘Kakiemon’. In actual fact, all three types were produced in the town of Arita on the Japanese southern island of Kyushu. Kakiemon is the name of the specific kilns belonging to a family of enamellers, and Imari is a type of colored decoration featuring predominantly iron red, underglaze-blue and black enamels with further occasional green and gilt details. 

The earlier Imari pieces can be recognized by-‘the comparatively darker tone of the enamels’ and the relatively limited use of gilding. From the late 1680’s onwards, the palette became brighter, with the parallel development of the Kakiemon style. Kakiemon porcelains display translucent overglazed enamels that are carefully fired on a finer body and a whiter glaze. The coarse body of the laughing Hotei figure on the present clock together with its overall palette decoration, including the pale turquoise blue details on the sack and pants, links it to Arita’s early Imari enameling tradition.

The hexagonal clock case, possibly adapted from a tiered box compartment, features geometrical lattice motifs in mustard yellow, aubergine and green enamels which are also traditionally associated with the early years of porcelain exports from Arita. This decoration is reminiscent of an earlier style of enameling developed in Kutani. Located on the main Japanese island of Honshu, Kutani kilns were also producing porcelains during the 17^th century. However, early Kutani pieces (ko-Kutani) were intended for the high-end domestic market and not for exporting abroad, as very few examples appeared in Europe before the 19^th century.

Claude I Du Grand-Mesnil:
He signed his work C.D.G. Mesnil. He was the son of Jacques, master clockmaker at Mer-en-Blaisois and Marie Chabin, first cousin of Etienne I Le Noir and was married to Marie-Madeleine Du Grand Grand-Mesnil (1710). He was the father of Jean-Claude known as Claude II and Claude-Antoine. He was first ouvrier libre and received Master on 7^th January 1716. Established Rue des Arrivans (1715), Pont au Change at la Pendule (1720). Retired in favour of his elder son, Claude II.  He was an important clockmaker who worked mostly for the marchand-mercier T.J. Hébert supplying him with movements for the clockcases of André-Charles Boulle. He also used cases by P. Gueinecken, and those decorated by the Martin Brothers and made very fine clock cases decorated with porcelain. Clocks signed by him were owned by the Duc de Bourbon, the prince de Conti, the duchesse du Maine, and M.M. Samuel Bernard, Randon de Boisset and Roussel.  His work can be found in museums including Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury, the Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York and the château de Versailles, Paris.

Thomas-Joachim Hébert (d. 1773):
He had a special status amongst the Parisian marchands-merciers as he enjoyed the privileges of the "marchands suivant la cour" also called the "marchands privilégiés du Palais". He began his career in 1714 becoming the successor of Nicolas-Guillaume Daustel whose widow he married-Louise Dezgodetz (d. 1724) and took over his business at Quai de la Mégisserie, at the sign `Le Roy de Siam’.

His stock in 1724 comprised in the main porcelain and Chinese lacquer, with a small number of pieces of furniture, notably some Boulle pieces of whom he was a client. He became a widower and remarried Marie-Jeanne Legras (d. 1763) and moved to rue Sainte-Honoré, by le Grand Conseil, where he was based from 1745-50.The pinnacle of his career was around the years 1737-1750, during which he delivered to the Royal family all sorts of furniture in Chinese lacquer and or vernis Martin, mounted porcelain, clocks and chandeliers. He worked closely with the ébénistes B.V.R.B et Criaerd, commissioning pieces in Japanese lacquer from the first  and those in vernis Martin from the second. In ten years from 1737 to 1747, Hébert delivered more than forty pieces to the Royal family. He retired at the beginning of 1750 selling his shop in the same year.