Chased, gilded and patinated bronze lion clock. It features - Lot 110

Chased, gilded and patinated bronze lion clock. It features a lion covered with cloth on its back, supporting the mechanism. The case, surmounted by an urn, is adorned with a string of pearls, a laurel garland and a knotted ribbon. The set rests on a neoclassical pedestal with a toupie base, decorated with interlacing friezes and underlined by large laurel garlands. The dial and movement are signed by Beffara in Paris. Based on a design by François Vion. Paris. Louis XVI period. Circa 1775. H_30.5 cm W_18 cm Provenance: Galerie Pellat de Villedon Expert : Stéphane PEPE This Lion clock is similar to the drawing by François Vion published in "vergoldete bronzen - Hans Ottomeyer- Peter Proschel. Edition Klinkhardt&Bierman 1986, page 193. A clock of this model was delivered to the Prince de Condé; it is described as follows in the inventory of the Palais Bourbon in 1779, in the cabinet overlooking the terrace: "Une pendule garnie en marcassite supportée par un lion bronzé, le tout sur un piédestal orné de guirlandes et doré d'or moulu, avec son châssis de verre monté en cuivre doré". A second clock is kept at the Château, Pavlovsk Museum in Russia. Other examples of the lion clock with slight variations are published in the "Encyclopédie de la pendule Française Pierre Kjellberg. Edition de l'amateur -1997, page 278" and in "La pendule Française dans le monde - Du style Louis XVI à la période Louis XVIII- Charles X. TARDY. Edition 1981, page 16 and 17. Expert : Stéphane PEPE