German, Nuremberg or Augsburg, circa 1580-1620, Table Clock in the Shape of a Monstrance (Spiegelubr)

9 février 2024

German, Nuremberg or Augsburg, circa 1580-1620, Table Clock in the Shape of a Monstrance (Spiegelubr)

Lot 625. Property from a Swiss Private Collection. German, Nuremberg or Augsburg, circa 1580-1620, Table Clock in the Shape of a Monstrance (Spiegelubr); gilt-bronze and steel, on later circular wood base, height of clock: 28 cm, height overall: 31.5 cm. Lot Sold 127,000 USD (Estimate 120,000 - 150,000 USD). © Sotheby's 2024

with refined chiseling and openwork, surmounted by two heraldic lions presenting a coat of arms engraved with floral ornaments forming ornate scrolls, on a baluster-shaped stem flanked by scrolls, with a circular, domed base pierced with strapwork and a band of acanthus leaves.

the movement is made up of a gilt bronze plate and the dial has three bands and a hand decorated with a sun. The first dial indicates the hours of day and night with two series of engraved Roman numerals from I to XII; the second silver dial has engraved hours in Arabic numerals from 1 to 24; the third dial is a lunar calendar in Arabic numerals from 1 to 29 (the last is inscribed 29T") indicated by the tail of the hand. Above, a disc displays the phases of the moon with different engraved motifs. The mechanism on the reverse opens with a convex glass door. Another dial shows the position of the hourly striking mechanism with a scale engraved from 1 to 12 in Arabic numerals. The reverse is entirely engraved with foliate motifs forming arabesques.

Provenance: Fernand Adda (1890-1965), Paris;
Hôtel Drouot, Paris, Collection d'un grand amateur, Maurice and Philippe Rheims, 29 November - 3 December 1965, lot 269;
Dr. Peter Guggenheim (1927-2012) and Dr. John Abbott (1925-2020), New York, since at least 1967;
Private Collection, New York;
Jean Nérée Ronfort (1944-2012);
Acquired in 2008.

Literature: Art Treasures Exhibition for the Benefit of the Young Women's Christian Association of the City of New York at the Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 1967, no. 320;
K. Maurice, Die deutsche Räderbur. Zur Kunst und Technik des mechanischen Zeitmessers im deutschen Sprachraum, Nuremberg 1580, 1976, vo. II, 2 vols., p. 72, no. 545, illus.;
P. Kjellberg, Encyclopédie de la pendule française du moyen age au XXe siècle, Paris, 1997, illus. p. 30.

Note: This gilt bronze clock in the shape of a monstrance is an exceptional example of German late 16th century goldsmith's work. The shape with the vertical orientation and a circular foot, enjoyed great success in Europe between 1580 and 1630 and were highly prized by the aristocracy. The intricate inner workings, or mechanisms, combined with the ingenuity and technical virtuosity displayed by Renaissance goldsmiths attracted the highest levels of society. Anne of Austria (1528-1590), daughter of the German Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, had her portrait painted by the famous artist Munich Hans Mielich (1516-1573), in which she proudly displayed her monstrance-shaped table clock (fig.1).

Fig. 1. Hans Mielich (1516-1573), Anne d'Autriche, 1556, oil on canvas, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, inv. 3847 Bridgeman Images

The name “monstrance clock” or “mirror clock” comes from the shape which resembles both the ecclesiastical receptacles made to accommodate the host and the shape of table mirrors.

The present clock was first published in the Adda sale in 1965 where it was attributed to an Augsburg workshop, with an imprecise dating between the 16th and 17th centuries. Later, Klaus Maurice, in his important study on German clocks, suggested Nuremberg as a place of manufacture and a dating around 1580, while Pierre Kjellberg returned to an Augsburg origin and a date of circa 1600.Among the closest comparisons to the present time piece is a more simple table clock at the National Museum in Warsaw (fig. 2), offering only the hours of the day but incorporating two dials, like the present piece. The circular foot has a dome of raised openwork incorporating scrollwork resting on a base cast with acanthus leaves which also bears close affinity to the present lot.

Fig. 2 Nuremberg, Table monstrance clock, circa 1580, Warsaw National Museum.

A monstrance-shaped clock signed by Georgrius Kostenbader, surmounted by a small figure of a falconer, in a private Belgian collection, also offers similarities, although that clock includes an astrolabe but lacks the openwork foot. The Louvre Museum has two 16th century German ‘monstrance’ clocks: one of which is dated 1598 and incorporates a dial with only a series of Roman numerals from I to XII; the other with the coat of arms and name of the person who commissioned the piece, the Bishop of la Cassière (1502-1581), made between 1572 and 1581 with three circles indicating the hours of the day and night.

Sotheby's. Master Sculpture & Works of Art, New York, 2 February 2024