Important Modern and Vintage Timepieces

Geneva, Mar 27, 2011

LOT 281

Leroy ? Carriage Clock with Signed & Dated Limoges Enamel Panels by Claudius Popelin L. Leroy & Cie, Paris, No. 1857. Possibly made for exhibition, the enamel panels signed by Claudius Popelin, the dial dated 1888. Exceptional and extremely rare, silvered, 8-day going, hour and half-hour striking and repeating carriage clock with alarm and Limoges School Revival en grisaille painted on enamel panels by the great enamelist Claudius Popelin (1825-1892).

CHF 18,000 - 28,000

USD 18,000 - 28,000 / EUR 14,000 - 22,000

Sold: CHF 55,000

C. Silvered, Renaissance, with applied grotesques for the feet and corner mounts, gadrooned top, hinged handle in the form of two opposing fish with intertwined tails, the sides set with very finely en grisaille painted on enamel Limoges School Revival panels depicting Diana The Huntress and Venus and Cupid on a deep red background, each panel initialled "CP" for Claudius Popelin, hinged glazed back door, button for the repeating on the top. D. En grisaille painted on enamel signed "CP" and dated 1888, gold painted radial Roman numerals and outer minute divisions, decorated with a seated lady and cupid in the lower half, a hanging oil lamp and foliage surrounding the chapter ring. Gilt fleurde- lys hands. M. 98 x 70 mm., rectangular gilt brass plates, going barrels for both trains, lateral lever escapement on a platform, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel flat balance spring, index regulator, striking the hours and half-hours on a gong, separate alarm train with further hammer, white enamel alarm setting dial. Movement signed, enamel panels signed CP. Dim. 16.5 x 11.3 x 10.3 cm. excluding handle. Property of a French Collector


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 2

Very good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 2-01

Very good

HANDS Original

Notes

Claudius Popelin and the Limoges School Revival An important revival of the Limoges School of enameling was instigated in the 19th century. The products were either copied from or in the style of the famous enamels made in Limoges during the 16th century. Maurice Ardant acquired the recipes for the enamels used for painting which had been preserved by the Nouailher family of Limoges. By the 1860s there was widespread interest in Limoges School work in both traditional and innovative styles. Large ornamental objects were made along with small pieces for jewellery and of course for mounting in other objects such as clock cases.
Claudius Popelin (1825-1892) was one of the best artists working in Limoges in the 19th century. Apart from being a first-rate enamelist, he was also a poet. His first wife died in 1869, and he married Princesse Mathilde Bonaparte in 1873. His son Gustave (1859-1937) was also an artist. Popelin?s work is of extremely high quality and examples can be seen in several museums, when occasionally pieces appear at auction they can command very high prices.
Literature: "Carriage Clocks, Their History and Development" Charles Allix and Peter Bonnert, 1974, p. 176. "Dictionary of Enamelling, History and Techniques", Erika Speel, 1997, p. 92.
It is exceptionally rare to find a carriage clock with signed enamel panels, especially by one of the greatest artists of the Limoges School Revival, Claudius Popelin. The panels are particularly beautiful, depicting a naked Venus and Cupid on one side and Diana The Huntress on the other. The dial is also dated 1888, the decoration of which continues in the same Limoges style. The silvered case is also of particular interest and a highly unusual design. When a clock with a case of this exact design was offered for sale by Leroy in 1904, the case was named "Renaissance". It is quite possible that the present clock was made for exhibition purposes