A Louis XVI ormolu-mounted Sèvres blue porcelain lyre clock circa 1785-90, the dial signed Kinable a Paris and Coteau

the lyre-form cobalt blue porcelain body outlined with ormolu beads and twisted ormolu bands on the inner and outer rims and mounted with ormolu floral garlands and olive branches, the top surmounted by a sunburst medallion centered by an Apollo mask, the circular pendulum framing the dial mounted with cut glass studs, the circular enamelled dial decorated with oval enamelled placques depicting the twelve zodiac signs and inscribed with the names of the months, raised on a stepped porcelain base mounted with ormolu garlands and supported by ormolu bun feet; the porcelain numbered 25 in blue script on base of lyre section under ormolu mount.

Christie's New York, December 17, 1986, lot 507

Small, approximately 3/4in. break to porcelain in upper right corner, further smaller old restored breaks to top and bottom ends of lyre, now conceiled by ormolu mounts. Porcelain also with some surface dirt. Ormolu with traces of oxidation, surface dirt and rubbing; not extensive. Larger ormolu pearl mounts on base now with break. Dial with very minor chip at edge of one winding hole and is with light surface dirt. Enamel and gilding generally intact and in good condition. One foot on front with small nick/dent; probably inherent to the piece. In good overall condition.
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. One of these clocks might have been used in the Salon des Jeux, where a clock of this model is recorded in the 1787 inventory: 'Une pendule de cheminé en porcelaine bleu, ornée de bronze doré au mâte, les dits ornements sont des entourages en perles, branches de laurier et guirlandes des roses, le haut est terminé par un soleil, movement marquant les jours de mois et signes du zodïaque....' The movement of that piece, now in the Louvre, was signed by Courieult and the dial by Coteau. 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. This suggests that the clock in the Salon des Jeux, valued at 192 livres, was a more elaborate piece, possibly because of the richly enameled dial, for which Joseph Coteau was known.

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. However, a date on a dial or movement does not necessarily mean that the porcelain case can be assigned to the same year as the rest of the clock, especially since clock makers were known to purchase more than one case at a time that they would fit with the desired movement and dial, and possibly even ormolu mounts, at a later date complying with a client's wishes. 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.

An clock of this model in bleu nouveau, delivered on approval to George IV at Carlton House on 12 October 1828 by the Paris dealer Lafontaine and subsequently purchased by the King, was exhibited at the Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London, 'Sèvres Porcelain from the Royal Collection,' 1979-1980, Exhibition Catalogue, pp. 79-80, no. 73 and Geoffrey de Bellaigue, French Porcelain in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen, Vol. III., p. 994, no. 284. Another clock of this model is also in Her Majesty's Collection, see ibid., p. 992. no. 283. A lyre clock by Kinable fitted with an enamel dial by Dubuisson was sold Segoura, Christie's New York, October 19, 2006, lot 124.