“Telemachus’ chariot” clock
Paris, Empire period c. 1810
Description:
Bronze artist Jean-André Reiche (1752-1817)
Watchmaker: Armingaud L..ne in Paris
The watch case derives from a model by Jean-André Reiche, in the form of a lion chariot, pulled by two horses and driven by Telemachus under the protection of Athena; the wagon wheel forms the clock display. The whole rests on a plinth held by four lictor beams. On the front, between two laurel wreaths, an imperial eagle is placed, holding flames and lightning between its legs, on the short sides two wreaths of palm and oak branches. Gilded with mercury with opaque and shiny parts, only the spikes of the beams are burnished, while the wheel is enameled and serves as a display for the clock, where we find the numbers in Roman and Arabic numerals, with the inscription “Armigaud L .. nor in Paris “.
Dimensions: 46 x 50.5 x 12.5 cm
Historical-critical analysis:
Jean-André Reiche (1752-1817) was one of the most important Parisian bronze painters of the Empire period, a native of Leipzig he settled in Paris during the reign of Louis XVI becoming a recognized bronze artist in 1785. His workshop moved to rue Notre- Dame de Nazareth and immediately grew in fame. Specialized as a bronze worker, he soon became a merchant dealing with the production of objects and watches, combining his creative skills with other workers as watchmakers, Armigaud is one of his collaborators. He died on March 18, 1817, leaving the shop to his son Jean-Reiche.
Bibliography:
Tardy, Dictionaire des Horologers Francais, Paris, 1972;
Bernard Chevallier, La Mesure du temps, dans la collections du musèe de Malmaison, Paris 1991;
Elke Niehuser, Die Franzosische Bronzeuhr, Eine Typologie der figurlichen Darstellungen, Munchen 1997
- “Telemachus’ chariot” clock
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