A gilt-bronze, bleu turquin and black marble mantel clock, the dial signed L. Simon à Paris Louis XVI, circa 1785-90

the white enamel dial signed L. Simon à Paris within a drum shaped case surmounted by an eagle above two addorsed seated figures, one a male writing, the other a female reading, representing  L'Etude and La Philosophie after Louis-Simon Boizot,  on an elongated oval base the frieze with panels depicting gambolling cherubs on toupie feet, on a shaped mottled grey and white marble base 

In overall very good conserved condition, with beautiful detail to casting. Colour less greenish and more golden and attractive than in catalogue photograph. The gilt-bronze is slightly dirty in places and would benefit from a light clean according to taste. Some very minor casting cracks. There appears to have been something previously in the left hand of the seated male figure and some resoldering to the instrument in the right hand which terminates in a thread. The back cover to the dial is missing. There is a slight variation in the casting of the band around the top of both rear toupie feet and one on the rear at left is bending slightly inwards, but can easily be strengthened. Very miniscule chips to the marble as visible from photograph and areas of infill. The hinged cover to the dial would benefit from tightening up. Very minor chips to the dial with a medium sized chip around the right winding hole and some hairline cracks between the Roman numerals III and V. There is a medium restoration to the curved right rear corner of the marble section of the base of the clock. The clock is on a detachable shaped marble base. The underside of the base incised ROYAN N F V F CHAS(?) DE BON..... OVE ANNF DE........ Total height with detachable base: 56cm. high, 1ft.10¼in.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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."

Comparative Literature:
J. D. Augarde, Les Ouvriers du Temps, 1997, p.168.
Pierre Kjellberg, Encyclopédie La Pendule Française du Moyen Age au XXe siècle, Paris, 1997, p. 261.
J. Ramon Colon de Carvajal, Catalogo de Relojes del Patrimonio Nacional, Madrid, 1987, p. 64, no. 47.
H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel et. al., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 295, fig. 4.17.5. , p. 296,  fig. 4.18.1, p. 297, fig. 4.18.4.
P. Verlet, Les Bronzes Dorés Français du XVIIe siècle, Paris, 1987, p. 322, fig. 357.

This clock is a variation on a well known model based upon a drawing executed circa 1785, attributed to the celebrated ciseleur-doreur François Rémond, which is illustrated by H. Ottomeyer and P. Pröschel, op. cit., p. 295, fig. 4.17.5 and reproduced here in fig. 1.

The two seated figures derive from models of L'Etude and La Philosophie created by Louis-Simon Boizot in 1780 for reproduction in biscuit porcelain for the Sèvres factory. The marchand-mercier Dominique Daguerre commissioned Rémond to design the clock to incorporate Biozot's figures. In 1788, Daguerre supplied two clocks of this model to Louis XVI, for the Château de St. Cloud, which are discussed by Verlet, op. cit., p. 322. The gilt-bronze detailing on the frieze of the illustrated model differs with this clock as the former has a frieze centred by a bearded male mask flanked by cherubs and roundels with a female mask. 

Rémond was one of the most celebrated ciseleurs-doreurs during the reign of Louis XVI and counted amongst his distinguished clientèle the comte d'Artois and Princess Kinsky. Between February 1784 and October 1787, Rémond sold at least thirty-two versions of this model to Dominique Daguerre, see J.D. Augarde, op. cit., p.175.

There are three very similar clocks in the Royal Collection at Buckingham Palace. A fourth version is at Versailles, H.Ottomeyer, P. Pröschel op. cit., p. 295, figs. 4.17.5, 4.17.6. Another is in the Quirinale Palace, illustrated by A. Gonzalez-Palacios, Il Patrimonio artistico del Quirinale, Gli Arredi Francesi, Milan, 1996, p. 308.There is also a version in white marble in the Royal Palace Stockholm, illustrated by Ottomeyer and Pröschel, op. cit., p. 297, fig. 4.18.4.

A clock on a white marble base with identically cast gilt-bronze panels on the base of the clock and the front of the frieze is illustrated by Kjellberg, op. cit., p. 261, with enamelling by Dubuisson and signed by the clockmaker Thomas à Paris.