Miniature Empire bronze clock - Matelot

Dimensions: H x W x D: 18 x 14 x 9 cm

Description:
Very rare miniature of the famous Pendule Matelot "Au Bon Sauvage". The depiction deals with an important topic of the time, trade with the colonies.

The rectangular base stands on pressed ball feet. Attached to the front, we see two cornucopias filled with exotic fruits and held by a bow.

A young sailor, dressed in a raffia skirt and feather jewellery, leans on a bale of tobacco from the left. As an allegory of seafaring and trade, he holds a rope in one hand and a bag of gold coins in the other. Next to him is a basket filled with pineapples. To the right of the bale we see an anchor and, alongside tobacco, another export from the French colonies, a barrel of rum.

The French movement with echappement is embedded in the tobacco bale. It runs for about a week when fully wound.
The dial is framed by a finely crafted bezel, the black numerals and hands on white enamel ensure that the time is easy to read.

The bronze is a modified version of the design drawing "Le Matelot", which is labelled "Michel, no. 120 aoust 1808 du dépot legal" (Paris, Bibliothéque nationale, Cabinet d'Estampes, Album Le 30). It was designed by the bronzier Pierre Mathieu Augustin Michel (1771-1830), who ran his workshop in the Rue Pastourelle in 1812 and in the Rue du Parc in 1820.
The "Le Matelot" clock was one of the most successful models in the Au Bon Sauvage pendule series. Its great success is demonstrated by the numerous different clockmakers' signatures on the dials of the clocks that have survived to this day. The model was not only sold by French clockmakers, but models also appear in Belgium and even in Sweden, for example by the Stockholm clockmakers Ruger Brechten and Gustaf Unden.

Michel designed the half-size model offered here directly after registering his Matelot design. It also served to secure his rights to a smaller version of the clock. However, this smaller version was only produced in very small numbers and therefore rarely appears in the art and antique trade today.
An identical version to the one offered here was auctioned as lot no. 97 on 2 October 2024 at the Palais Dorotheum in Vienna.

Condition:
Very nice, cleaned condition of the original fire gilding. The movement has been dismantled, cleaned and overhauled. It runs perfectly.

Price: 7500,-€