$14,000
"Audience" Clock by Antide Janvier, No. 332, Paris, c. 1802, mahogany veneered case with two gilded sphinxes, cast brass bun feet, decorative brass bezel enclosing the 5 1/2-inch dia. silvered dial with Roman numerals engraved Janvier and 332 , the chapter ring calibrated in ten minute intervals with single blued-steel hand off the center, the smaller hand above making one revolution in 10 minutes, the spring-powered movement with backplate engraved Janvier regulated by a 10 1/2 in. pendulum suspended on a silk thread and mounted above the thermometer with single blued steel hand and silvered plate engraved from minus 10 to 0 to 30 and engraved (top to bottom) Paris 1753; Chaleur d' cte; Tempere; Glace; Paris 1740; 1776; Janvier , ht. 12 1/2 in. Note: Antide Janvier was a gifted astronomer, mathematician and clockmaker who was Mechanical Clockmaker by Appointment of King Louis XVI 1784-1791. He produced the most complicated and ingenious clocks of his time including clocks with musical, planitaria, dual Gregorian and Republican perpetual calendars, equation of time and unique calibrations to time an audience with royalty. This clock is illustrated and discussed in Michel Hayward, Antide Janvier, 1751-1835 , pp. 156-157. minor veneer fractures on corners, slight tarnish on silvered components and discoloration on blued hands, movement in running condition.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2008-08-23
