Date: about 1712-20
Maker: Cabinetwork attributed to André-Charles Boulle (1642–1732) and Alexandre-Jean Oppenordt (1639–1715), Pedestal design by Gilles-Marie Oppenord (1672–1742), Father Time model by François Girardon (1628–1715), after Pordenone (about 1484–1539), Movement by Jacques III Thuret (1669–1738)
Materials: Oak, walnut, conifer, ebony, turtleshell, brass, gilt bronze, enamel and glass
Measurements: 100.2 x 52 x 31 cm (clock) and 133 x 65.5 x 43.5 cm (pedestal)
Inv. no. F43 and F52
This pedestal clock bears testament to the web of artists with whom Boulle collaborated. The clock, with its figures of Love triumphing over Time, follows a design the cabinetmaker created around 1690–1700 for Louis XIV’s controller-general of finances, the marquis de Maillebois, who was a nephew of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the king’s formidable chief minister.
A red chalk drawing of the model, featuring a wall bracket and a face with cherubs, survives in the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris. It relates most closely to a slightly later clock in the museum, but also to the example here, notwithstanding the column base.
The gilt-bronze figure of Time, who reclines beneath the clock face on ruffled drapery, is one Boulle used frequently. It is a model made by the royal sculptor Girardon and ultimately derives from a Renaissance fresco painted by Pordenone.
Love, who balances on top of the clock, would originally have held Time’s scythe, after having made off with it, but this is now missing. Aside from the splendid mounts, the clock features première-partie marquetry with scrolling leaf motifs and an intricate trellis pattern.
Blue-coloured paper has been placed behind this, as well as behind the marquetry on the feet, to create the illusion of lapis lazuli.
Hardstones such as this were much in demand among collectors in the 17th and 18th centuries, treasured for both their rarity and their association with the splendour of ancient Rome.
Antiquity also inspired the form of the pedestal, which has a distinctive architectural appearance, including a central pilaster, also stained blue. Unlike the clock, the pedestal relates to the work of Oppenord, an innovative draughtsman who studied in Italy, particularly to a design he created for a clock delivered to the comte de Toulouse, an illegitimate son of Louis XIV.
Both pedestals share the same model, although the Wallace example is taller, and both display première-partie motifs, including Greek-key patterns and serpents entwined with bulrushes.
The mounts and marquetry on both pedestals differ from Boulle’s work and were likely produced by Oppenord’s father, Alexandre-Jean, another royal cabinetmaker based in the Louvre. The palace also provided lodgings to Thuret, who devised the movement for the museum’s clock.
From a prominent clockmaking family, he was horologist to Louis XIV and responsible for maintaining royal timepieces and stopping them on the king’s death. Alongside his court duties, Thuret also dabbled in exporting clocks to Iran.
The clock was probably purchased by the 3rd Marquess of Hertford, as a very similar example is described as being on a landing in his residence on Park Lane, Dorchester House, in 1842. It later entered the possession of the 4th Marquess of Hertford, who kept it either in the Hall or the ‘Canaletto Room’ at Hertford House.