French Rococo Clock and Barometer
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A rare, original pair of French scientific instruments of impeccable condition and quality
Key Features
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- This exceptional pair of Rococo-style scientific instruments are both beautiful and functional
- The pair boast a clock, barometer and two types of thermometers
- The banjo-shaped cases are crafted of kingwood with finely cast bronze ormolu mounts
- It is rare to find an original pairing of such quality scientific instruments
- Circa 1855
- 12 1/2" wide x 44" high
Item Details
- Width:
13 Inches - Height:
43 1/2 Inches - Origin:
France
This exceptional pair of French scientific instruments, crafted in the ornate Rococo style, comprises a clock, barometer and two types of thermometers made by the finest mechanical artists of the age. The elongated banjo-shaped cases, the most characteristic design of the 19th century, are veneered with lustrous kingwood and accented with foliate swaths of cast bronze ormolu. Each instrument displays its measurements on fine white enamel with filigree pierced hands. This set is extremely rare, not only in terms of decoration, but in that such instruments, particularly barometers, are usually only found as single pieces. Clock is marked "Gille L'Aine Paris." The barometer is marked "Par Ronquetti, Rue St. Antoine Vis à Vis La Caserne des Gardes Françoises."
Circa 1855
12 1/2" wide x 44" high
Provenance:
From the personal collection of Loyd Taylor and Paxton Gremillion, Dallas, Texas.
The clock bears the mark of one of two clockmakers known as Gille l'Aîné, the father and son Pierre I François Gille and Pierre II Gille, who produced luxury clocks for such patrons as Louis XIV of France, Augustus II of Saxony, as well as the Comte von Brühl and the Prince de Condé. The barometer and thermometers bear the marks "Ronquetti A Paris, Rue St. Antoine," and "Vis A Vis La Caserne des Gardes Francoises". This maker was possibly connected to the renowned Ronchetti/Ronketti family of barometer makers of England. This large family of Italian immigrants consistently produced some of the best barometers of late 18th-century and 19th-century England.
References:
English Barometers: 1680-1860, 1977, Nicholas Goodison
Circa 1855
12 1/2" wide x 44" high
Provenance:
From the personal collection of Loyd Taylor and Paxton Gremillion, Dallas, Texas.
The clock bears the mark of one of two clockmakers known as Gille l'Aîné, the father and son Pierre I François Gille and Pierre II Gille, who produced luxury clocks for such patrons as Louis XIV of France, Augustus II of Saxony, as well as the Comte von Brühl and the Prince de Condé. The barometer and thermometers bear the marks "Ronquetti A Paris, Rue St. Antoine," and "Vis A Vis La Caserne des Gardes Francoises". This maker was possibly connected to the renowned Ronchetti/Ronketti family of barometer makers of England. This large family of Italian immigrants consistently produced some of the best barometers of late 18th-century and 19th-century England.
References:
English Barometers: 1680-1860, 1977, Nicholas Goodison
