Beschreibung:

A FINE FRENCH GILT BAMBOO REPEATING ALARM CARRIAGE CLOCK WITH RELIEF CLOISSONNE ENAMEL PANELS DROCOURT, PARIS, LATE 19th CENTURY The eight-day two train gong striking movement with silvered platform lever escapement regulated by sprung split bimetallic balance and alarm mechanism positioned to the top left sounding on the hour gong, the backplate stamped with oval DC trademark to centre left over serial number 21095, the rectangular cream ground cloisonne enamel dial with golden yellow ground Arabic numeral chapter ring set within asymmetric polychrome flowering foliage inhabited by nesting birds and incorporating a subsidiary alarm setting dial to lower margin, the gilt brass bevel glazed bamboo case with frame modelled to resemble sections of grained bamboo overlapping at the corners, the top with conforming hinged carrying handle and panel-glazed escapement aperture and the sides inset with impressive relief modelled cream ground polychrome cloisonné enamel panels depicting a peacock perched amongst chrysanthemums to the right hand side opposing a rooster standing beneath flowering shrubbery to the left, the rear with bevel-glazed door and standing on integral bamboo stump feet. 16.5cm (6.5ins) high with handle down, 11cm (4.375ins) wide, 9cm (3.5ins) deep. Pierre Drocourt is recorded in Allix, Charles and Bonnert, Peter CARRIAGE CLOCKS, Their history and development with further additions and corrections from research undertaken by Leigh Extence (available online) as born in 1819 and setting up in business as a clockmaker in Paris in 1853. He initially worked from Rue Limoges (later called 28 Rue Debelleyme after the rationalisation and merger of Streets in 1865), Paris and was succeeded by his son, Alfred (born 1847), in 1872. The blancs roulants, rough movements, were made in Saint-Nicolas-d'Aliermont, a town outside Dieppe, where Drocourt had workshops until their sale in 1904, being premises purchased from Holingue frères in 1875 who had previously supplied Drocourt. The firm was awarded numerous international exhibition medals and mentions including Silver in Paris 1878 and Gold in 1889. The highly unusual enamel panels fitted to the current clock carefully and cleverly employ a mixture of opaque and translucent enamels to create depth, texture and lustre which varies under different lighting conditions. Some areas in particular, such as those representing the tail plumage of the peacock, utilise engraved and chiselled detail within metal ground plate to great effect by allowing reflected to pass through vibrant pigmented transparent enamel surface layers. In addition to this the dial panel utilises the cloisonne technique for the chapter ring numerals and the dot minute markers, the alarm setting dial is also finished in the same manner which has required particularly fine work in the execution of the numerals. Clocks with this particular type of relief cloisonne enamel decoration appear to be extremely rare, however an example almost certainly from the same workshop is illustrated in Roberts, Derek CARRIAGE CLOCKS and Other Travelling CLOCKS on page 203 (Fig. 12-12).