THE MOVEMENT BY JEAN-BAPTISTE BAILLON, MID-18TH CENTURY

Jean-Baptiste III Baillon (d. 1772), maître in 1727.

This magnificent cartel clock is a testament to the virtuosity of French sculptors and bronziers during the mid-18th century. The ornamental repertoire of scrolling foliage, rockwork, shells, animals and figures – both natural and fantastical – is incredibly rich and each element has been skilfully modelled, cast, and chased to produce a sinuous and flowing overall composition; a perfect expression of the rocaille style of combining exoticism and naturalism. It is difficult to attribute to a particular bronzier, however the superb quality points to a renowned craftsman such as Jacques Caffieri.

An identical clock, lacking the chimera, armillary sphere and some peripheral flowers, the gilt dial inset with enamel chapters, the movement also signed by Baillon and numbered 1245, was sold Sotheby’s, Paris, 28 November 2017, lot 27 (€60,000). A further identical model, the gilt dial inset with enamel chapters like the above and signed by Martinot, the movement replaced, was sold at Sotheby's in Monaco on February 3, 1983, lot 511.

Jean-Baptiste III Baillon was one of the most celebrated and prolific clockmakers of the 18th century in France. The most successful member of his distinguished clockmaking family and the son of Jean-Baptiste II Baillon (d. 1757), he was received as maître-horloger in 1727. In 1738 he became Valet de Chambre-Horloger Ordinaire de la Reine; in 1748 he became Premier Valet de Chambre de la Reine and finally by 1770 was made Premier Valet de Chambre and Valet de Chambre-Horloger Ordinaire de la Dauphine Marie-Antoinette. Baillon enjoyed unprecedented success in his lifetime and his clientele came from the highest echelons of French society as well as the Garde-Meuble de la Couronne and the Spanish Royal family.

Established first in the Place Dauphine from 1738, and then in rue Dauphine after 1751, his success was thanks to the ability to organise a vast and thriving manufactory on an unprecedented scale, with a private factory in his house at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, managed from 1748-57 by Jean Jodin (1715-61) and where production continued until 1765. In 1753 fellow horloger Ferdinand Berthoud described Baillon’s atelier as ‘the finest and richest Clock Shop. Diamonds are used not only to decorate his Watches, but even Clocks. He has made some whose cases were small gold boxes, decorated with diamond flowers imitating nature…His house in Saint-Germain is a kind of factory. It is full of Workmen continually labouring for him…for he alone makes a large proportion of the Clocks and Watches [in Paris]’.

Baillon numbered his clock and watch movements, which helps us not only to date each one but also gives a sense of the scale of his enterprise: by the time of his retirement the numbering of watch movements had reached 4,320 and clock movements 3,808. A cartel clock with movement by Baillon, the case attributed to Caffieri and the dial signed and dated Martiniere, 1743, has a movement numbered 2019 – based on that example, the dating of the present clock is likely to also be 1743, a fact also corroborated by the lack of any ‘C’ couronné poinçon tax marks (applied on any alloy containing copper between March 1745 and February 1749). Baillon’s clock cases were supplied by the greatest craftsmen of his day including the Caffieris, Osmond, Lieutaud and Saint-Germain.

At the time of his death on 8 April 1772, Baillon’s fortune was valued at 384,000 livres. His own collection of fine and decorative arts was auctioned on 16 June 1772, whilst his remaining stock, valued at 55,970 livres, was put up for sale on 23 February 1773. The sale included 126 finished watches, totalling 31,174 livres and 127 finished watch movements at 8,732 livres. The value of his clocks totalling 14,618 livres included 86 clocks, 20 clock movements, seven marquetry clock cases, one porcelain clock case and eight bronze cases.