GARNITURE. GILT BRONZE. HENRI PICARD, VICTOR PAILLARD. PARIS, FRANCE, 1831-1864.

Garnish, clock and two candlesticks. Gilt bronze. Henri Picard and Victor Paillard. Paris, France, 1831-1864. With markings (base, back). A gilded bronze clock with two four-light candelabras accompanied by flowers, with smooth bases and vase-shaped feet with a strong classical inspiration, decorated with reliefs (fauns, children's figures, garlands, grotesque heads, etc.). The clock has two female figures (allegories of Geography and Astronomy due to the objects they carry) flanking a vase containing the dial, which has Roman numerals for the hours and Arabic numerals every five for the minutes, as well as a signature. The Paris-type machinery has an engraved number and a seal (Vr Paillard / A Paris). On the base area, on the back of the clock, the legend H. Picard is engraved, which refers to the founder and gilder Henri Picard (France, active 1831-1864), who worked for Defreveille, also collaborating with Charles Perrault and Grault. He produced numerous works for Napoleon III, many of which are preserved in the Louvre Museum in Paris. The inscription on the dial reads “Victor Paillard / Ft de Bronzes / A Paris”. Victor Paillard (1805-1886) was a French sculptor who completed his training in Paris with Jean-François Denière, also collaborating with Ferdinand Barbedienne. In 1830 he created a successful firm of movable art objects that received state commissions (especially for the Palau d'Afers Exteriors at the Quiai d'Orsay). There is evidence of the existence of other clocks like the present one: one by the bronzesmith Étienne Martincourt with the dial signed “Lepaute à Paris”; another identical to this one and now in the Paul Getty Museum in Malibu (California, USA) from the Tuileries; and another with the dial signed by Victor Paillard. As for the model of the vases, it seems that they were inspired by some very popular and appreciated ones by Claude Michel (Clodion firm), who made an original in terracotta in 1763, on which numerous pieces in bronze and other materials were based (a pair in marble is preserved by the Art Institute of Chicago, dated 1766; one is in the Goncourt Collection dated 1761 or 1762; a pair of candelabras with these bases are known and attributed to Barbedienne, etc.). In turn, it seems that Clodion was inspired by some vases by François Boucher. Weight: 57 kg.

· Size: Reloj 60x27x72 cms Candelabros 32x25x83 cms