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Lot Essay
Julien-Antoine Beliard (b. 1758 – d. after 1806) , the son of Francois, a Master clockmaker to Louis XVI. Julien worked with his father whose business he continued at Rue de Hurepoix. He was known for his skeleton clocks and used cases by Nicholas Bonnet and enamel by Joseph Coteau (J-D. Augarde, Les Ouvriers du Temps, Geneva, 1996, p. 279.). Examples of skeleton clocks with revolutionary dials by Coteau and also incorporating this distinctive style of polychrome decorated marble plinth include those sold; Ader, Picard, Tajan, Paris, 23 February 1978, lot 55; Ader, Picard, Tajan, Paris, 13 December 1980, lot 65; and another by Beliard, sold Thierry de Maigret, Paris, 25 March 2015, lot 273.
Joseph Coteau (1740-1812) was the most famous enameller of his day, creating bejewelled dials for the greatest clockmakers. Born in Geneva, he became maître-peintre-émailleur at the Académie de Saint-Luc in 1766. By 1772 he was installed in Rue Poupée in Paris.
THE GREGORIAN AND REVOLUTIONARY CALENDARS
Decimal or Revolutionary time was adopted by decree of the National Convention on November 24, 1793. It stipulated that the Gregorian calendar should be abandoned and replaced by the Republican calendar which divided the day into ten hours each with one hundred minutes and then further sub-divided into one hundred seconds. Although perhaps a logical 'simplification' of timekeeping the habits of the populous were difficult to change. The new system meant having to design a new dial and to this end a competition was organised to invent one that was clear and easy to read.
Despite the efforts of some of the great horological minds the system was never really adopted and clockmakers had no real reason to fully support it because their Revolutionary clocks were useless outside France which ruined their export trade. By 1795 it was no longer compulsory to use Decimal time and even before then clocks and watches were being made with both the 'old' and 'new' systems as on the present example. Finally it was decreed that the Decimal system had proved impossible to implement properly and from January 1, 1805 French timekeeping reverted back to the old system. It was used again briefly under the Paris Commune in 1871. The numbering to the rear of the movement '8 - 1' would indicate that it was made in the Revolutionary year which started in September 1799.
Joseph Coteau (1740-1812) was the most famous enameller of his day, creating bejewelled dials for the greatest clockmakers. Born in Geneva, he became maître-peintre-émailleur at the Académie de Saint-Luc in 1766. By 1772 he was installed in Rue Poupée in Paris.
THE GREGORIAN AND REVOLUTIONARY CALENDARS
Decimal or Revolutionary time was adopted by decree of the National Convention on November 24, 1793. It stipulated that the Gregorian calendar should be abandoned and replaced by the Republican calendar which divided the day into ten hours each with one hundred minutes and then further sub-divided into one hundred seconds. Although perhaps a logical 'simplification' of timekeeping the habits of the populous were difficult to change. The new system meant having to design a new dial and to this end a competition was organised to invent one that was clear and easy to read.
Despite the efforts of some of the great horological minds the system was never really adopted and clockmakers had no real reason to fully support it because their Revolutionary clocks were useless outside France which ruined their export trade. By 1795 it was no longer compulsory to use Decimal time and even before then clocks and watches were being made with both the 'old' and 'new' systems as on the present example. Finally it was decreed that the Decimal system had proved impossible to implement properly and from January 1, 1805 French timekeeping reverted back to the old system. It was used again briefly under the Paris Commune in 1871. The numbering to the rear of the movement '8 - 1' would indicate that it was made in the Revolutionary year which started in September 1799.