Etienne Lenoir

The ormolu and patinated case features a prancing horse with a finely textured finish, a wellcast snail, scrolling foliage above framing the clock and a cast and textured base.

The finely painted white porcelain dial has black Roman numerals for the hours, Arabic five-minute marks, finely cast and finished hands and is signed by the clockmaker, ‘ETIENNE LENOIR, A PARIS’.

The eight-day time and strike movement has asymmetrical winding arbors, a silk thread suspension adjusted for fast/slow at the back, a star shaped countwheel and is engraved ‘Etienne LeNoir A Paris’.

Etienne Lenoir (maître in 1717) and his son Pierre-Etienne (maître in 1743) worked together from 1750 to 1771. They sold a great number of clocks throughout Europe and in 1759 their stock was valued at more than 28,000 livres. Their clock cases were made by Cressent, Latz, Caffiéri, Saint-Germain and Osmond. Springs were supplied by the Richards, Buzot and Masson; enamel dials by Martinière and Decla.

For additional examples of 18th century animal clocks see: ‘La Pendule Francais’, pgs. 125-135.