Henry Dasson 1825-1896 A Fine Louis XV style gilt and patinated bronze 'Éléphant' mantle clock, Paris, dated 1888

the dial inscribed HENRY DASSON / A PARIS, the twin train movement with the Japy seal and number F325, the rocaille base engraved henry DASSON et Cie / 1888

The present model derives from a model designed in the 18th century by Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain. He worked as an ébéniste on Faubourg St.-Antoine and made a specialty out of producing cases for clocks and barometers.

Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain was one of the most celebrated bronziers of his era, and an incontestable champion of the Rococo style. A passionate amateur botanist, he delighted in incorporating elements of nature in his works which ranged from figures of rhinoceroses, elephants and boars, to fantastical creatures such as dragons and to naturalistically cast flowers, foliage, palm fronts, water, shells, seed pods and so forth. He produced clock cases and other works in gilt bronze for an exclusive and discriminating clientele.

Henry Dasson (1825-1896) established his workshop at 106, rue Vielle du Temple, after a brief career at rue des Nonnains-d'Hières in the fabrication of bronze artifacts and clocks in association with Godot. In 1871, he bought the workshop and stock for 14,000 francs from the widow of the ébéniste Charles-Guillaume Winckelsen, and soon became recognized as a brilliant ébéniste and bronzier.  

Specializing primarily in the production of works from the Garde Meuble National, he participated in the Paris 1878 Exposition Universelle, prompting critic Louis Gonse to comment, "nouveau venu dans la carrière industrielle Henri Dasson s'est rapidement crée par la perfection de ses oeuvres une très haute situation à laquelle nous applaudissons chaleureusement." He was made a Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in 1883 and was awarded the Grand Prix Artistique at the Paris 1889 Exposition Universelle. When the business finally closed in 1894, an auction was organized to clear the remaining of his stock.