Lot 56
  • 56

A rare and monumental Louis XV ormolu-mounted regulateur de parquet circa 1745-49, attributed to Jean-Pierre Latz, some mounts bearing the C couronné poinçon

Estimate
300,000 - 500,000 USD
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Description

  • Jean-Pierre Latz, ébéniste privilégié du Roi before 1741.

    Probably Vincent De Lorme (père), maître 1717, recorded rue Darnetal, 1748, d. 1751.

    The 'C Couronné poinçon', (Crowned C) was a tax mark struck on any alloy incorporating copper, produced or offered for re-sale between March 1745 and February 1749

  • height 119 inches; width 40 1/2 in; depth 22 3/4 in.
  • 302 cm; 103 cm; 58 cm
the associated dial with white enamel cartouches and center inscribed Julien LeRoy a Paris, the associated striking movement inscribed on the backplate De Lorme A Paris contained within a cartouche-shaped case surmounted by a later ormolu group incorporating a male figure riding in a horse-drawn chariot and fitted with dragons at the lower corners,  the slightly flared rectangular center section inlaid to form foliate scrolls and centered by the ormolu coat-of-arms of the duc de Richelieu; the slightly bombé base fitted with a hinged glazed pendulum aperture and with acanthus leaf mounts at each side, the flared lower part raised on leaf-scrolled ormolu feet supporting crouching dragons.

Provenance

Louis François Armand du Plessis de Richelieu (1696-1788) as evidenced by the coat-of-arms on the clock

Collection of Vernon R. Regal, sold at auction, Dargate Galleries, Pittsburgh

 

Condition

The clock movement and pendulum have been replaced and the clock is not in working order. The bronze group on the top is a later replacement as are the husk-form mounts on the corners of the base. The marquetry has recently been restored and does incorporate some painting simulating veneer to some of the floral and foliate motifs. The base is largely extremely well painted to simulate veneers. The base has numerous old repairs, the ormolu border is placed upside-down, the back legs were formerly mounted, the dragons formerly had lightning bolts in their mouths and there are small losses to the mounts elsewhere. This clock was in extremely distressed condition when acquired by the present owner and the mounts had been almost entirely removed. The recent restoration has resulted in some of the ormolu elements being incorrectly mounted to the case. The overall condition could very possibly be improved through restoration by a more knowledgeable craftsman.
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.

Catalogue Note

Jean-Pierre Latz (c.1691-d.1754)

Jean-Pierre Latz, like many of the other great cabinet-makers who made their reputations in Paris, was born in Germany, in a small town near Cologne c. 1691.  He arrived in Paris around 1691 and like all of his compatriots, faced the difficulty of trying to become an independent master in Paris.  He was able to avoid the problem for a period of time by obtaining a royal brevet which permitted him to practice his trade; he also occupied premises on land which was outside the jurisdiction of the City of Paris, and hence its guilds (H. Hawley, 'A Reputation Revived, Jean-Pierre Latz, Cabinetmaker', The Connoisseur, November 1979, p. 176).  Notwithstanding these circumstances, Latz was subject to the rules and regulations which governed cabinetmakers at the time, one of which precluded them from making their own ormolu mounts in their own workshops.  Latz flagrantly disobeyed this edict and cast mounts from models which were in his possession.  These mounts were, therefore, exclusively used by him and have proved to be one of the cornerstones of proof when attributing pieces of furniture to this maker who does not appear to have stamped many of his pieces.  As noted by Hawley ('Jean-Pierre Latz Cabinetmaker', The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of Art, September/October 1970), many pieces which Latz supplied for his foreign clientèle were not stamped, including most of the furniture sent to Parma.

In 1749 no less than 2,288 models and bronze parts were seized from Latz's workshop.  In spite of this intervention by the guild, it is not entirely clear that Latz completely stopped casting on his own premises.  When he died in 1754 the inventory of his workshop was taken by two of the most important cabinetmakers of the period, Charles Cressent and Gilles Joubert.  The inventory describes work-benches used for chasing as well as a quantity of "cast-bronze mounts used as models, and overcasts .. to serve as decoration for clocks, commodes ..."  The inventory also lists amounts due to a variety of bronziers and casters which confirm that Latz had to obtain at least some of his mounts outside his own workshop after 1749.  The inventory taken after his death also demonstrates just how important the production of clock cases was to his workshop.  They by far outnumbered any other category with 170 clock-cases listed out of which 100 were incomplete and 'out of fashion'; the same inventory lists only 48 pieces of furniture (for a further discussion of this production see, A. Pradere, French Furniture Makers, Malibu, 1989, p.153-161).  No clock in the 1754 inventory corresponds with the present clock, which must have been sold before the 1749 guild intervention. 

Only three long-case clocks have so far been recorded which bear Latz's estampille.  They are the one in the Cleveland Museum of Art; one belonging to Prince Louis-Ferdinand of Prussia at Charlottenberg, and the third at Waddesdon Manor.  There are a number which are reliably attributed to him based upon comparison of the mounts, especially those pre-dating the 1749 seizure, the overall design and use of veneers.  The present clock can join this group based on these criteria and based upon the fact that it is virtually identical to one now in a private Paris collection and incontrovertibly attributed to Latz.  This example was at one time with the famous Paris dealer Seligmann, and later with Maurice Segoura.  It is decorated with identical marquetry panels on the front and is fitted with identical ormolu mounts including the borders of the center section and the bombé lower section, and most notably it is fitted with identical dragons both on the bonnet and on the leaf-scrolled feet.  

Another clock of similar large scale and of comparable design is in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch, Drumlanrig Castle (illustrated, Hawley, op. cit. p. 231, no. 20).  It is veneered with very similar floral marquetry panels, and is fitted with identical acanthus leaf corner mounts.  Another clock from the collection of Winthrop Edey (illustrated, ibid. p. 218, no. 5) has an interesting veneer of trellis marked with quatrefoil which is almost identical to the ormolu trellis pattern on the lower part of the present example.  It also incorporates a number of comparable ormolu mounts, some of which are struck with the C couronné poinçon.

Louis-François-Armand du Plessis, duc de Richelieu (1696-1788)

Louis François Armand de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu (1696-1788) was the grand nephew of Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), who as Prime Minister during the reign of Louis XIII, had helped France to become the leading power in Europe.  He was a god-child of Louis XIV and great friend to Louis XV becoming an indispensable and ever present member of the king's inner circle, he received the title Premier gentilhomme de la chambre du Roi in January 1744.  Richelieu had a distinguished diplomatic career, serving as French Ambassador to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles VI in Vienna from 1725-1729.  He also distinguished himself with his military career, named maréchal de camp des armées du Roi in March 1738; aide de camp du Roi in 1744 and Maréchal de France in 1748.  In 1746 he was named Ambassadeur extraordinaire auprès de l'Electeur de Saxe, roi de Pologne.  These distinctions were, however, possibly eclipsed by his reputation as a ladies' man.  Described as 'charming, handsome, brave, wicked and corrupt, one of those to whom all is permitted and all is forgiven, the Regent's mother said of him "If I believed in sorcery I should think that the duke must possess some supernatural secret for I have never known a woman to oppose the very least resistance to him"  (N. Mitford, Madame de Pompadour, London, 1958, p.88). 

Richelieu bought the beautiful Hôtel d'Antin in Paris and added a wing called the Pavillon de Hanovre which was pulled down in 1930 and rebuilt in the park of Sceaux.  Horace Walpole described the house "I have seen it ... there is a chamber surrounded with looking glasses and hung with white lutestrings painted with roses.  I wish you could see the antiquated Rinaldo who has built himself this romantic bower.  Looking glass never reflected so many wrinkles" (Mitford, op. cit. p. 260).

Armand-Emmanuel du Plessis (1766-1822), 'took over his grandfather's duties at court as first gentleman of the bedchamber (1785). On a visit to Germany and Austria in 1790 he joined the Russian army, fighting against the Turks at Izmail, and then visited Russia. Succeeding his father as duc de Richelieu (1791), he fought with the royalists under the Prince de Condé (1792) and with the Austrians (1793–94). Visiting Russia in 1795, Richelieu was appointed lieutenant colonel of the Cuirassiers of St. George, and later Tsar Alexander I appointed him governor of Odessa (1803) and governor general of New Russia, the area between the Dniester River and the Caucasus (1805). After cleaning up a corrupt administration, Richelieu transformed the Black Sea village of Odessa into a modern city. He constructed port facilities and encouraged agriculture and commerce.  Richelieu returned to France in 1814, but on Napoleon's return from Elba in 1815 he joined the Tsar's forces against Napoleon. He succeeded Talleyrand as prime minister with control of foreign affairs in September 1815. His friendship with the Tsar helped him to mitigate the demands of the Allies on France, and at the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle (1818) he obtained the withdrawal of the Allied occupying army and the inclusion of France into the Quadruple Alliance. He resigned in 1818, became prime minister again in 1820, but was forced by political opponents to resign again in 1821' (Encyclopædia Britannica).