Gilt Bronze Wall Cartel “à ruban”, model Robert Osmond – Paris, 18th C.

This rare gilt bronze wall cartel clock, known as a “cartel à ruban” or “vase and ring” cartel, is a refined illustration of the transition between the Louis XV and Louis XVI styles. The model, characteristic of Robert Osmond’s production, stands out for the richness of its neoclassical ornamental vocabulary.

The case displays a finely chiselled neoclassical décor. Stylised acanthus leaves frame the enamel dial, which is surmounted by a female mask. A naturalistic ribbon runs across the upper section, looping through the rings of a smoking urn crowning the ensemble. A garland of laurel leaves and berries ornaments the lower section, ending in a cul-de-lampe formed of an abundant foliate seed motif.

The white enamel dial, signed Vallette, indicates the hours in Roman numerals and the minutes in Arabic numerals, with two delicately pierced copper hands.
18th-century movement signed Vallette à Paris.

A fine example of the stylistic transition between Louis XV and Louis XVI. Paris, 18th century.


HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND ATTRIBUTION

Robert OSMOND (1711–1789), admitted as a maître fondeur in Paris in 1746, ranks among the most important Parisian bronze makers of the second half of the 18th century. He collaborated with the finest clockmakers of his time, including LÉPINE and LE ROY, and distinguished himself by creations that were both architecturally balanced and sumptuously detailed.

This model, sometimes referred to as the “grand modèle à ruban” or “royal model”, is one of the most renowned from OSMOND’s workshop. Only three documented examples are known today. The original design is preserved in a drawing book held at the INHA Library (Recueil de desseins. Modèles de pendules, 1755–1780).

One cartel was delivered by the clockmaker Lépine in 1767 for Madame Victoire’s bedroom at the Château de Versailles. A second was commissioned in 1770 for the apartments of the Dauphin and was later retained by Louis XVI in his private rooms. It was recorded in 1792 in the “cabinet du passage à la petite bibliothèque”, and later identified by Pierre Verlet in the collections of the Palais de l’Élysée.
Two further examples are held today at the Musée Nissim de Camondo and the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.

A remarkable testament to the art of Parisian gilt bronze during the reigns of LOUIS XV and LOUIS XVI, this rare cartel exemplifies the refinement of the creations produced in the workshops of ROBERT OSMOND for the most renowned clockmakers of his time. Intended for royal apartments and distinguished collectors, such pieces are now among the most sought-after works of the 18th century.


MUSEUM AND PUBLIC COLLECTIONS REFERENCES

• PARIS, MUSÉE DU LOUVRE, clock in gilt bronze and soft-paste porcelain • • PARIS, MUSÉE DU LOUVRE, gilt and chiselled bronze clock, movement by Denis-François Dubois, c. 1765–70
• PARIS, MUSÉE JACQUEMART-ANDRÉ, gilt bronze cartel clock mounted on a secrétaire cartonnier with four putti, movement by Charles Le Roy, late Louis XV period
• PARIS, MUSÉE JACQUEMART-ANDRÉ, cartel “à ruban, grand modèle”, “royal model”, c. 1770
• VERSAILLES, CHÂTEAUX DE VERSAILLES, architectural design cartel clock from the Dauphin’s cabinet, delivered for Madame Royale in 1778, movement by Jean-Antoine Lépine
• CHANTILLY, CHÂTEAU, MUSÉE CONDÉ, gilt and chiselled bronze cartel clock, c. 1785
• LOS ANGELES, J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM, gilt and patinated bronze clock, movement by Étienne and Pierre-Étienne Le Noir, provenance: Duc de Richelieu
• ASCHAFFENBURG, SCHLOSS JOHANNISBURG, patinated bronze cartel, partially signed, movement by Viger à Paris
• LONDRES, BUCKINGHAM PALACE, British Royal Collection: gilt and patinated bronze clock, movement replaced by Vuilliamy in 1817
• GRIPSHOLMS CASTLE (Sweden), gilt bronze clock crowned by Genius and Study, movement by Charles Le Roy
• BADEN-BADEN, ZÄHRINGER MUSEUM, gilt bronze cartel clock with rotating dial
• STOCKHOLM, NATIONALMUSEUM, “grand modèle à ruban”, “royal model”, c. 1770
• CLEAVELAND, THE CLEAVELAND MUSEUM OF ARTS, gilt bronze cartel with vase and lion head motif, movement by Robert Robin, c. 1785


BIBLIOGRAPHY

• AUGARDE J.-D., Les Ouvriers du Temps, la Pendule à Paris de Louis XIV à Napoléon Ier, Genève, 1996.
• BRITTEN, F. J., Old Clocks and Watches & Their Makers, London, 1922.
• GASC N. et MABILLE G., Le Musée Nissim de Camondo, Paris, 1999.
• GAY M., « L’ANCAHA au musée Nissim de Camondo », Bulletin de l’Association Nationale des Collectionneurs et Amateurs d’Horlogerie Ancienne et d’Art, automne-hiver 1999, n°86.
• KJELLBERG P., Encyclopédie de la pendule française, Paris, 2005.
• L’ESPÉE R. de, Die Osmond, ein Familienbetried und seine Produktion, in Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986.
• OTTOMEYER H., PRÖSCHEL P., Vergoldete Bronzen, Munchen, 1986.
• RUTTER F., The Edward Arnold Collection, London, 1921 (Pendule anciennement dans la collection Demidoff).
• TARDY, La Pendule française, 1ère partie, des origines au Louis XV, Paris, 1974.
• VERLET P., Les Bronzes dorés français au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1987.
• WILSON G. et al., European Clocks in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angles, 1996.