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210
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Gilt bronze "elephant, trunk raised" clock, the movement cas…
See original version (French)
210
-
Gilt bronze "elephant, trunk raised" clock, the movement cas…
See original version (French)
Estimate €15,000 - €20,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Gilt bronze "elephant, trunk raised" clock, the movement case in red lacquer and the elephant in patinated bronze. The base is decorated with flowers, and the movement features a stilt-walker with a dog.
Enamel dial with Arabic numerals and Roman numerals separated by gilded fleurs-de-lis, signed Jn Baptiste Baillon. Movement plate signed J.B. Baillon in Paris.
n° 3913.
By Jean Joseph de Saint Germain (unsigned).
Circa 1740.
(A small element missing from the back of the base).
Height : 45 cm - Width : 33 cm - Depth : 19 cm
Jean Joseph de Saint Germain, 1719-1791, awarded the title of Master in 1746, was a famous Parisian foundryman and chiseller of the mid-18th century, specialising in "boêtes de pendules et boetes éléphantes" (clock cases and elephant cases). The son of a cabinetmaker who made clock cases, he was elected to the jury in 1765, a position he held for several years. He settled in rue Saint Nicolas from 1743 to 1775, when he retired.
He built up a large clientele of watchmakers, merchant-merchants and aristocrats such as the Duchess of Orléans, the Dukes of Tallard and Pralins, the Marquises of Pange and Eaubonne, the financier Blondel de Gagny, the Duchess of Parma, the Kings Adolphe-Frédéric of Sweden and Auguste III of Poland, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and the Electors of Bavaria.
Jean Baptiste III Baillon, 1702-1772, received his master's degree in 1727, and was an eminent member of a great watchmaking dynasty. First based in the Place Dauphine, then in the Rue Dauphine, he was considered one of the finest watchmakers of his time. He was Valet de chambre watchmaker to the Queen and later to the Dauphine. Alongside his Parisian shop, he developed his own factory in Saint Germain en Laye, which operated from 1748 to 1765.
Comparative bibliography :
- H. Ottomeyer, P.Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, vol. I, p. 124, fig. 2.8.5.
- R. Colon de Carvajal, Catalogo de relojes del Patrimonio nacional, Madrid, 1987, p. 23, n. 4.
- Sale, Beaussant Lefèvre, Paris, 20 March 2026 n°167 (signed St Germain)
- Sale, Artcurial, Paris, 13 December 2023, n°21.
- Sale, Var enchères, 19 May 2019."
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale
Paintings, furniture and objets d'art
Auction location
Auction time
06/26/2026 at 1:30 PM
Ref. : 11544 - 251
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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