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Lot Essay
This sculptural marble and ormolu clock corresponds to that supplied by Luigi Valadier (d. 1785) to 'Eccmo Pnpe D. Marc' Ant.o Borghese' for his appartments in the Villa Pinciana on the 30 March 1785. His bill records:
Per una figura di metallo rappresentante un fiume, che sostiene un quadrante d'orlogio p. porvi il movimento, e zoccolo sotto di pietra, il quale fù fatto lavorare da sua Eccza, importa fra metallo, fattura, e spese p. la doratura s 110.
This clock, with a different base and winding-holes to the dial, was last recorded in a catalogue photograph for the Borghese sale in 1892 (discussed in A. Gonzáles-Palacios, Il Gusto dei Principi, Milan, 1993, Tomo I, p. 261 and Tomo II, p.231, fig. 460).
Designed in the late 18th Century antique or Renaissance manner, the reclining figure, which unveils the clockplate recalling the concept of 'Time' unveiling 'Truth', is derived from Michelangelo's heroic sculpture, emblematic of 'Evening', on the tomb of Lorenzo de Medici in the Basilica di San Lorenzo (U. Baldini, L'Opera completa di Michelangelo scultore, Milan, 1973, figs. XXVII and XXIX). This celebrated model proved inspirational to 18th Century designers and craftsmen and numerous versions are recorded in bronze d'ameublement and ceramics. A similar figure of a River God surmounts a Doccia porcelain chimneypiece by Gaspero Buschi in the Museo di Doccia, Sesto Fiorentino (G. Prateri, Repertorio della Scultura Fiorentina del Seicento e Settencento, Turin, 1993, vol. II, figs. 35 and 37).
Per una figura di metallo rappresentante un fiume, che sostiene un quadrante d'orlogio p. porvi il movimento, e zoccolo sotto di pietra, il quale fù fatto lavorare da sua Eccza, importa fra metallo, fattura, e spese p. la doratura s 110.
This clock, with a different base and winding-holes to the dial, was last recorded in a catalogue photograph for the Borghese sale in 1892 (discussed in A. Gonzáles-Palacios, Il Gusto dei Principi, Milan, 1993, Tomo I, p. 261 and Tomo II, p.231, fig. 460).
Designed in the late 18th Century antique or Renaissance manner, the reclining figure, which unveils the clockplate recalling the concept of 'Time' unveiling 'Truth', is derived from Michelangelo's heroic sculpture, emblematic of 'Evening', on the tomb of Lorenzo de Medici in the Basilica di San Lorenzo (U. Baldini, L'Opera completa di Michelangelo scultore, Milan, 1973, figs. XXVII and XXIX). This celebrated model proved inspirational to 18th Century designers and craftsmen and numerous versions are recorded in bronze d'ameublement and ceramics. A similar figure of a River God surmounts a Doccia porcelain chimneypiece by Gaspero Buschi in the Museo di Doccia, Sesto Fiorentino (G. Prateri, Repertorio della Scultura Fiorentina del Seicento e Settencento, Turin, 1993, vol. II, figs. 35 and 37).