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ABS-17 Pendule Directoire 'Le Portefaix' Au Bon Sauvage

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Van Brug Collection

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Name: ABS-17 Pendule Directoire 'Le Portefaix' Au Bon Sauvage
Measurements: Height: 38 cm, Width: 11 cm, Depth: 27 cm
Reference: VBCA10014
Colors: Gold, White, Black
Condition: Lightly used, with very light scratches, or minor cosmetic wear, but has no structural issues. Most antique and vintage items fit this condition.
wear: Shows signs of wear that are consistent with the item’s age and typical use, such as gentle surface marks or patina, without compromising its overall appearance or functionality.

Categories: Decorative Arts Clocks Au Bon Sauvage Clocks
Materials: Bronze
Styles: Empire
Periods: 19th Century Antique Empire
Origins: France
Subject: Figure

Description

Pendulum 'Le Portefaix' Au Bon Sauvage, France, c. 1815.

Bronze Design: Jean-André Reiche.

Fire Gilt and patinated bronze.

Eight-day movement with belslag empire on the hour and half hour.

The representation of true exotics at the time of the Directory, a very popular topic, with the interest and enthusiasm for life in the colonies overseas, in particular through travelogues and novels aroused. The model Portefaix, based on a design by Jean-Andre Reiche shows a dynamic porter. His torso is bare and black patina. On his back he carries the litter with a wicker basket that surrounds the harmonious movement.

Unlike the personifications of "America" and "Africa", which, like the goddesses of ancient mythology were represented, the "noble savage" This is a helpful and reliable guy. Here in the figure of Portefaix seems to be a background by anecdotal. Thus, the carrier is often called upon not only to transport goods, but sometimes also occurs as a messenger.

Compositional news is that the figure was designed as a freestanding sculpture in which movement of the cylinder is fully integrated.

Height: 38 cm

Width: 27 cm

Depth: 11 cm

Literature:

Pendulum Encyclopedia La Francaise, Pierre Kjelberg, 343rd page

Tardy II, 358th page

Elke Niehäuser: French bronze clock. A typology of figural representations, Munich 1997, p. 149