-Portico pendulum in beautifully chiseled and gilded bronze with a top decoration of a flaming brandon torchand flanked by two Swan confronted, acanthus fleurons and bases, small flowers and fine leafy foliage of laurel and ivy. Entablature with fire pots resting on two tapered uprights decorated with applied motifs of stylized anthemums, grained laurel stems centered with a small flower and topped with sheathed busts of Egyptian women. Under the dial, two Eagles facing each other perched, wings spread, on laurel branches and holding in their talons a ribboned flowered crown. Directly above the pendulum, a circular lens decorated with a medallion animated by two feeding dovess pecking above their nest. The whole rests on an oval base set with ears of corn, brettes, squares supported by four feet in flattened balls ringed with pearls. White enamelled circular dial with Roman numerals for the hours and Arabic numerals for the minutes. Signed: " Hersant in Orleans”. 1825th century, Restoration period. Around XNUMX.
– Briefly mentioned by Tardy in his Dictionary of Watchmakers (1976, p.297), theHersant watchmaker* seems active in Orléans, the city where he practiced his profession, " Near the Prefecture », around the year 1825. Although succinct, this bibliographical reference therefore allows us to establish the dating of our pendulum.
Situated at the crossroads of two aesthetic trends, this joily piece of watchmaking from the Restoration period (1815-1830) plays with references, combines them not without ambivalence. Also, it combines the architectural form of the so-called portico clocks inherited from the century of Louis XVI, theEgyptian elementt chained female figures with faces surrounded by nemes characteristics of the style initiated by Vivant Denon on his return from Bonaparte's Egyptian campaign (1798). The gracefulness of his silhouette as well as the preciousness of his openwork gilded bronze adornment with a delicate design typical of the achievements of Empire style host antique references widely used in the last third of the 18th century (fleurons, bases, acanthus scrolls, laurel, crown, torch, etc.).
However, certain ornamental motifs reinvested by the First Empire take on a different symbolism. Thus, the swan, a major figure in the ornamental repertoire of the first decade of the 19th century associated with the theme of fertile Love in many decorative or furniture pieces of this period, is summoned here as light-bearing bird; The Flaming torche, mismatched with the concomitant amorous attributes (quiver, bow, ..), supports this Apollonian dimension. Placed at the top, they symbolize the Dawn.
Holding in their claws a ribboned flowered crown, and not thunderbolts, the Eagles shed the imperial iconography associated with the Jupiterian Eagle. As Lacombe de Prezl notes in his Dictionnaire iconological (1779), " the eagle has sometimes been used to designate the Apotheosis of Princes or Princesses » that they also wore "in the airs ». However, in 1825 takes place on Coronation of Charles X. This princely and no longer imperial apotheosis is tacitly signified in the ramifications of laurel, ivy, foliage linked to joy, to fidelity.
Also, from both a formal and iconographic point of view, our clock reveals the tastes and inclinations of the clientele of this period in search, following the Napoleonic disasters, of appeasement and reconstruction. This desire is confirmed by the medallion adorning its lens: fluttering above their impatient and hungry brood, the pair of feeding birds pecking at himself praises the royal mane conducive to new happiness.
Decorative object, instrument for measuring time, any quality watchmaking creation has a particular historical dimension. This is attested to, with knowledge and restraint, by the clock that we offer.
- The Master Watchmaker: Hersant in Orleans. A little more in-depth research allows us to consider the family and professional affiliation existing between Mr. Hersant (Louis-François?) working in Orléans and Hersant father and son, established in Paris, at n°3-5 rue Sainte-Anasthase during the 1870s.Manufacturer of all types of pendulum movements », Member of the SWatchmaking companies and Parisian trade unions", initiator of an eponymous Prize, Hersant father-Jean-Louis Hersant (11828-1889)- "enjoyed great sympathy among his peers". He was the co-founder alongside eminent watchmakers (Lepaute, Detouche, Desfontaines, Diette, Japy, Sandoz, Woog frères) of the Ecole d'Horlogerie de Paris. His son, established at 9, rue Saint-Gilles, took over the business in 1880 before selling the family business in 1892 to " the Charlot house”.
-Good condition and original gilding.
- Movement restored and revised by our watchmaker. In working order and guaranteed for one year.
