Page 51 - joa-october-rev

18th-Century Astronomical Clock, Made by a Clockmaker to

King Louis XV, Fails to Sell at Auction

PARIS, FRANCE – An 18th-century “This clock is unusual,” Turner explained.
Neoclassical clock standing ten feet tall, made “Already in the Middle Ages, you had a long
by a clockmaker to the French king, failed to tradition of monumental clocks, mainly set up
sell at a Paris auction this past June, despite in cathedrals or churches or town halls or
being a “once-in-a-lifetime occasion,” according other public places. This seems to be a slight
to clock expert Anthony Hunter. scaling down, a domesticating of these clocks
Nothing else like it has ever come to for an elegant, rich interior.
auction, said auctioneer De Baecque and “The case is extremely modern,” he added.
Associates – apart from the clock itself, which “In the 1770s, it was just the moment when a
Turner said fetched approximately 500,000 fashion developed for sculpting wooden
Swiss francs (about $758,000 in today’s USD) images and figures and columns which could
when it was last offered in a public sale in be fixed onto a white wood ground and then
1990 at Geneva’s Hapsburg Antiquorum. The gilt, and on this clock, you see exactly that. It
sale in June took place at Paris’s Hotel was at the forefront of fashion."
Drouot, where the clock had been on display,
with an estimated value of $850,000.

for,” said Turner. “Not only does it tell you
sunset and sunrise, where the sun is in the
zodiac, and the phases of the moon, but also
solar time and mean time. In other words, it Along with all the complications, the clock
The clock features a wood case, topped has two different time indications. One is the is marked with the names of some 49 locales
with a decorative urn, and stands on a faux time shown by the sun, which you would see that were used as observation stations during
marble base. The cabinet is stamped by its on a sundial. That is the time shown on the the passage of Venus in front of the sun in
maker, Jean Baptiste Guillaume Prevost. The glass dial on the front of the clock. Above, on 1761 and 1769, a turning point in the history
clock includes what is called a skeletonized a set of turning rings on an urn, it tells mean of astronomy, which allowed astronomers to
movement, meaning that the mechanism’s time, that is, the time indicated by a accurately measure the size of the solar system.
inner workings are exposed in a glass cage well-regulated clock. There’s a difference, If all that is not enough for the discerning
with a mirrored backing—very rare for the which varies throughout the year.” clock collector, there’s also the fact that it
1770s, Turner pointed out. The 17th and The clock was made for collector Michel II still works.
18th centuries were a high point in the Velut de La Crosniere in about 1770 by Jean Maybe it will find its next buyer, next time!
development of mechanical clocks, enabled by Louis Bouchet, who became a master clock-
technological innovation, especially those by maker in 1762 and was appointed clockmaker
Dutch mathematician and physicist Christian to King Louis XV for the Chateaux de LOOKING TO BUY
Huygens, said Turner. Bellevue in 1769. Bouchet clocks reside in
“It’s a monumental astronomical clock the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and GAY AND LESBIAN
with all the complications you could hope the National Archives in Paris.
EPHEMERA
CLASSIFIEDS
Photo Albums, Diaries,
Books. Top dollar paid.
Please NO Pornography.
Contact: Adam Schachter
LangdonManorBooks.com
713-443-4697

Classified

Display Ad

3 months $99

Call
508-347-1960 ext 402

for more information

October 202 3 49