A Louis XVI gilt bronze and grey marble mantle clock 'a la Geoffrin', Charles-Athanese Pinon, Paris, circa 1775

6½-inch enamel dial with concentric date and signed Pinon, Hger du Roi, and Coteau, finely pierced and engraved fleur de lys hands, the bell striking movement with numbered star-cut count wheel, flat bottomed plates and signed on the backplate Pinon A Paris, the case with oak and acanthus mounts and mounted with a seated classical female figure on a grey marble plinth inset with a rosette frieze, on gilt toupie feet 

Dial and hands in good condition. Movement is complete and looks as though it would run but may benefit from fresh oil. Case in generally very good condition throughout, restoration to gilding, some minor restoration to the edges of the marble base, toupie feet replaced. With replaced pendulum, winder and regulation key.
"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.

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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."

Charles-Athanase Pinon (1734-c.1785), maître 1762, was appointed Valet de Chambre-Horloger Ordinaire du Roi in 1766 and supplied the movement for numerous clocks to the royal household at Versailles. The present clock appears to be the only recorded example of a pendule à la Geoffrin with a movement by Pinon.  The signature Coteau is that of Joseph Coteau (1740-1812), a Geneva-born enameller who settled in Paris by 1772 and was the foremost supplier of fine enamel dials to Parisian clockmakers. He also worked for the Sèvres factory and enjoyed a successful career as a miniaturist.

This style of clock is traditionally called a Pendule à la Geoffrin after Marie-Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin (1699-1777), the widow of a wealthy lieutenant who held an important salon in Paris for over twenty-five years in her hôtel at no. 372 Rue Saint-Honoré, frequented by the leading artistic and literary figures of the Enlightenment including Diderot, d’Alembert and Voltaire. A great patron of the arts, Madame Geoffrin is likely to have commissioned the design for this case herself, described in contemporary inventories as representing L’Emploi du Temps (the employment of time), from the sculptor Laurent Guiard (1723-83), a pupil of Edmé Bouchardon, in the mid 1750s.

Several examples of pendules à la Geoffrin survive in important private and public collections. A model with a movement signed Ferdinand Berthoud and Vitruvian scroll-mounted ebony base stamped by the cabinetmaker Joseph Baumhauer is in the Wallace Collection, acquired by the 3^rd Marquess of Hertford in 1802 (Peter Hughes, Wallace Collection Catalogue of Furniture, London 1996, Vol.I, cat. no.99).   A similar version with a movement by Julien Leroy is in the Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor (Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue, Waddesdon Manor Catalogue of Furniture and Gilt Bronzes, London 1974, vol. I no.17).