204
A MARVELOUS ASTRONOMICAL CLOCK, BY HUBERT MARTINET, Mid-18th century
h cm 39
The clock is a timepiece featuring complications such as a full calendar with moon phases, indication of the 31 days of the month, display of the day of the week and month, and an astrological calendar. It includes a striking mechanism on the hour and half-hour on a silver bell. A visible sun-style mysterious pendulum is present. The case is in bronze with mercury-gilt appliqués, mounted on a white marble base.
A celebrated and enigmatic French artisan of the second half of the 18th century, Martinet is believed to have owned the copyrights to his creations and to have sold his works both in Paris and London, producing only a few models with variations in complications. He worked both as a clockmaker and a merchant-jeweller, as noted by Geoffrey de Bellaigue, and is often cited for having created a rare elephant-shaped clock in gilt bronze and Meissen porcelain, signed Gudin on the dial, now in the Rothschild Collection.
The present model represents one of the types most appreciated by great lovers of luxury horology of the period.
For a comparable example, see Bonhams London, Fine Clocks, 9 July 2013, lot 16.
€ 8.000,00 / 12.000,00
Estimate
€ 8.000,00
Starting price