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Lot 1272* - A202 Decorative Arts - Thursday, 22. September 2022, 10.00 AM

MONUMENTAL CLOCK "LA PAIX ET L'ABONDANCE"

French Restoration, signed J.H. Doresse Fabr. de Bronzes de la Cour à Bruxelles, ca. 1830. The design by T.-F. Suys (Tilman-François Suys, 1783-1861) for King William I of the Netherlands and the Royal Palace in Brussels. Monogrammed LR.
Gilt bronze. Rectangular base with profiled leaf frieze, the front decorated in relief with putti dancing. The upper part with a tall clock case on paw feet with scrolled leaves. Brass dial. Engraved hours in Roman numerals. To the left and the right of the clock, a female Allegory of Peace and Abundance, respectively. Lateral handles with leaf decoration. Movement with lever escapement, striking the 1/2-hour on bell. Numbered: *189.
75 × 28 × 93 cm. Weight ca. 50kg.

Gilding retouched or restored.

Provenance:
- according to oral sources, from the Royal Palace in Brussels.
- via an art dealer in Brussels, into the present Belgian collection.

Little is known about the bronzier Doresse. He produced fine bronze work for the Royal Palace in Brussels. The design of this monumental clock is by T.-F. Suys, who also provided the model for a pair of candelabras from the Royal Palace, the execution of which was also by Doresse. The clock and the candelabras were exhibited by Doresse at the Exposition Industrielle in Brussels in 1830. A photograph from 1880 is said to show the clock as well as the candelabras in the Blue Salon (Arlette Smolar-Meynart, Le Palais de Bruxelles, 1991, p. 321). The candelabras are still in the Brussels Palace today.
The architect Tieleman Franciscus Suys (1783-1861) had a great influence on the architecture of his time as an important representative of Classicism and Eclecticism. He was a Court-appointed architect to the Dutch King William I as well as to the Belgian King Leopold I, by whom he was commissioned with the development and design of the Leopold Quarter with the Leopold Park. Between 1827 and 1829, Suys was also involved in some redesigning of the Royal Palace in Brussels.

A sketch of the clock is depicted in: Arlette Smolar-Meynart et al. Le Palais de Bruxelles, Huit Siècles d'art et d'histoire, Bruxelles, 1991, featuring an illustration of the candelabras (322) and the sketch for the clock on offer, p. 323.


CHF 20 000 / 30 000 | (€ 20 620 / 30 930)

Sold for CHF 21 040 (including buyer’s premium)
All information is subject to change.