A Louis XV gilt-bronze cartel clock "Vénus éclairant le monde", the dial signed Jean-Philippe Gosselin, Paris, circa 1750, the case attributed to Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain
Auction Closed
June 24, 04:51 PM GMT
Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 EUR
Lot Details
Description
7-inch enamel dial signed Gosselin A Paris, the square-plated movement with chamfered corners, five baluster pillars, silk suspension, numbered count wheel striking on a bell, signed on the backplate as the dial, the rococo case surmounted by a seated female above foliate and floral mounts, the lower section cast with billowing clouds inhabited by two winged putti; (regilt)
Haut. 79 cm ; Height 31 in
The model for this cartel representing “Venus éclairant le monde” or “Le Point du Jour” was designed in 1728 to be placed at the bedside of Louis XV at Versailles. Traditionally described as having been executed after a drawing by the Marquis Henri‑Camille de Beringhen (1693–1770), the King’s First Equerry, it is more likely that he merely approved the design rather than created it. Intended for an alcove, as indicated by its pull cord used to activate the striking mechanism, the present cartel follows the composition ultimately conceived by the founder Nicolas Lesueur and the clockmaker Julien Le Roy in 1734 for Louis XV. Venus, holding a torch, is accompanied by two putti: one offers the goddess a sun, symbolizing day, while the other, with its head turned downward, represents night.
The success of the model led Nicolas Le Sueur to reproduce it several times, notably for Monsieur Bonnier de la Mosson, one of the most renowned collectors of his time. Several similar cartels are recorded today, featuring movements supplied by different clockmakers. A wall cartel of this model by Pierre II Le Roy and Antoine‑Nicolas Martinière is preserved at the MAD in Paris (inv. 2014.112.5), and another example is held at the Musée Carnavalet in Paris (inv. MB401). The model is also illustrated in P. Kjellberg, Encyclopédie de la pendule française du Moyen Âge au XXe siècle, Paris, 1997, p. 101, fig. G.