Mantel Clock (Pendule), c. 1750 - c. 1755

BK-17504 Pendule The central porcelain sculptural group of this mantel clock depicts the characters Columbine and Pantalone from the commedia dell’arte, a popular Italian folk theatre that originated in the 16th century.

The figures, made at the Meissen porcelain manufactory, are placed within a gilt bronze housing. They stand on a rock-modelled base decorated with plant motifs. The movement, crafted by the Parisian clockmaker François Gallois, is supported by an arcade, flanked by a tree trunk that branches into several arms. These branches are fitted with leaves and decorated with mounted porcelain flowers, produced at the Vincennes porcelain manufactory.

The Meissen porcelain manufactory, founded in 1710, was the first European factory to successfully manufacture genuine, hard-paste porcelain. Within a short time, the factory achieved international recognition, partly thanks to the designs of several artists who were employed there. One of the most prominent artists was the sculptor Johann Joachim Kändler (1706-1775), who was responsible for the design of this sculptural group.

From the 1740s onwards, such porcelain sculptures were exported on a large scale to Paris, where so-called marchands-merciers—dealers in luxury goods—had them incorporated into new ensembles, including this mantel clock. The addition of porcelain flowers contributed significantly to the success of these objects among European nobility and courts. (Baarsen 2013, pp. 202-205) The porcelain flowers were made in the workshop of Marie-Henriette Gravant-Mille, wife of Louis-François Gravant (1716-1765).

He was one of the founders of the Vincennes porcelain manufactory. Gravant-Mille headed a specialized workshop within the factory, where at the height of production she supervised a group of 45 women. Between 1747 and 1753, Parisian marchands-merciers purchased more than 120,000 porcelain flowers. The popularity of these flowers can be traced to their naturalistic and botanically accurate appearance. In some cases, the flowers were even perfumed to enhance the illusion of lifelikeness.

In this way, in the 18th century, nature was brought indoors, as it were. (D’Albis 1987, p. 14; Savill 2021, pp. 58-65) Sources: A. D’Albis, “Le Secret de Gravant ou le Privilège de Vincennes”, Bulletin de la Société des amis de Vincennes, 1987, pp. 7-16. Reinier Baarsen, Paris 1650-1900: decorative arts in the Rijksmuseum, New Haven, 2013, pp. 206-207. Rosalind Savill, Everyday Rococo: Madame de Pompadour and Sèvres porcelain, Norwich, 2021, pp.

58-65. The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, holds this object as BK-17504; its record gives material recorded as bronze (metal), gilding (material), porcelain; technique painting technique, gild; measurements height 16.5 cm. Description translated from the museum's Dutch catalogue text; details are those of this museum object, and how far it represents a wider type has not been independently verified.