Rare Louis XVI period portico clock by Jacques-Claude-Martin ROCQUET
Rare Louis XVI period portico clock in white marble and gilded and chiseled bronzes with antique-inspired decoration. This important Neo-classical clock of the late 18th century is composed of two sheaths with caryatids, surrounded by friezes of pearls and topped by stylized palmettes. The two sheaths enclose a white enamelled dial showing the hours in Roman numerals. The lower part of the dial is decorated with an openwork drapery. The dial is surmounted by a basket of flowers from which two garlands of flowers spring on each side. The wire sundial is decorated with a radiant cherub in finely chased bronze. The set rests on a white marble base decorated with a frieze of laurel and palmettes, a frieze of olives and a star in its center, in gilt bronze.
This Louis XVI style clock is signed on the dial "Rocquet à Paris", for Jacques-Claude-Martin Rocquet (1765-1816), a renowned master clockmaker under Louis XVI and the Empire.
Circa: 1780
Base dimensions: 33cm x 11cm x 5cm.
Overall dimensions: W: 33cm, D: 11cm, H: 53cm.
Overall dimensions: W: 13in, D: 4,3in, H: 20,9in.
Condition Report: In good overall condition. Minor cracks on the dial between 9 and 10 o'clock. The mechanism has been cleaned, serviced and is in working order.
Jacques-Claude-Martin ROCQUET
A watchmaker of remarkable qualities, he inherited an artistic entrepreneurial spirit from his family. Indeed, we know that his father worked as a painter and designer of fabrics and costumes alongside artists such as François Boucher at the Menus Plaisirs du Roi, while one of his ancestors built a chapel for the Medici family. His work was noticed by the Court and even today, the Mobilier National owns one of his clocks, called "Troubadour" from the Restoration period.
Documentation:
- KJELLBERG Pierre, Encyclopedia of the French clock from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, Paris, Les éditions de l'amateur, 1997.
