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Lot Essay
Founded in 1815 by Jean Beurdeley (d. 1853), the company's reputation was principally established under the latter's son, Louis-Auguste-Alfred (d. 1882), who succeeded his father in 1840 and opened a large shop in the Pavillon de Hanovre. Known chiefly for the refinement of its ormolu, the continued success and reputation of the firm thrived under Alfred-Emmanuel-Louis Beurdeley (d. 1919), who directed business for the firm from 1875 until its closing in 1895. Beurdeley's inventory was subsequently sold by Galerie Georges Petit of Paris on 6-8 March and 27-28 May 1895.
While Beurdeley's contemporary, François Linke, was known to produce several régulateurs of varying designs based on Caffièri's original, the number of examples produced by Beurdeley is believed to be far fewer, the present lot being one of two formally recorded. An ebony veneered clock of identical design and attributed to Caffièri (d. 1774) appeared in the 16 May 1895 sale catalogue of Beurdeley's workshop as lot 38, though supportive provenance for such an attribution is lacking. In light of recent scholarship, it is now widely believed that that clock was indeed the work of Beurdeley himself and was presumably displayed in the ébéniste's stand at the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893 (C. Mestdagh, L'Ameublement Français: 1850-1900, Paris 2010, p. 182).
In a critique of his French compatriots at the 1893 fair, the bronzier Albert Susse briefly describes 'la pendule Louis XVI de Caffieri le fils' exhibited in the Beurdeley's stand (op. cit. p. 182). Published nearly eight years after the close of the Exposition, the 1901 Report of the Committee on Awards of the Columbian Commission undoubtedly confirms that Beurdeley displayed his Régulateur au char d'Apollon to rave reviews, describing in detail a 'hall clock in ebony highly ornamented with designs in gilt bronze, surmounted by a group of bronze horses driven by Apollo in a chariot' (op. cit., p. 919).
While Beurdeley's contemporary, François Linke, was known to produce several régulateurs of varying designs based on Caffièri's original, the number of examples produced by Beurdeley is believed to be far fewer, the present lot being one of two formally recorded. An ebony veneered clock of identical design and attributed to Caffièri (d. 1774) appeared in the 16 May 1895 sale catalogue of Beurdeley's workshop as lot 38, though supportive provenance for such an attribution is lacking. In light of recent scholarship, it is now widely believed that that clock was indeed the work of Beurdeley himself and was presumably displayed in the ébéniste's stand at the World's Columbian Exposition held in Chicago in 1893 (C. Mestdagh, L'Ameublement Français: 1850-1900, Paris 2010, p. 182).
In a critique of his French compatriots at the 1893 fair, the bronzier Albert Susse briefly describes 'la pendule Louis XVI de Caffieri le fils' exhibited in the Beurdeley's stand (op. cit. p. 182). Published nearly eight years after the close of the Exposition, the 1901 Report of the Committee on Awards of the Columbian Commission undoubtedly confirms that Beurdeley displayed his Régulateur au char d'Apollon to rave reviews, describing in detail a 'hall clock in ebony highly ornamented with designs in gilt bronze, surmounted by a group of bronze horses driven by Apollo in a chariot' (op. cit., p. 919).