A LOUIS XV ORMOLU-MOUNTED GREEN AND POLYCHROME VERNIS-DECORATED BRACKET CLOCK...
The white enameled dial with Roman chapters and Arabic minutes, the shaped case and bracket mounted with pierced scrolls, leaves and trellis, the green ground painted with roses and tulips, the bracket with a hunting dog and game bird, the dial and movement signed 'ROMILLY A PARIS', the movement also scratched '89 / 65'
273⁄4 in. (70.5 cm.) high, overall
Provenance
Galerie Jean Wanecq, Paris.
Lot Essay
Jean Romilly, maître in 1752.
Jean Romilly (1714-1796) was a distinguished Genevan watchmaker and journalist. Born into a Huguenot family that had sought refuge in Geneva following the Edict of Fontainebleau, Romilly established a notable reputation through a series of ingenious innovations in the field of horology. Among his most remarkable achievements was the conception of a watch capable of running for an entire year without requiring winding -a remarkable feat for its time. Romilly's intellectual pursuits extended well beyond the workshop. In 1777, he was among the founders of the Journal de Paris, while also contributing to the Encyclopédie edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert. His contributions addressed the theoretical principles underlying watchmaking, reflecting the breadth of his knowledge and his position at the intersection of practical horology and Enlightenment science.
His son, the theologian Jean-Edme Romilly, likewise contributed to the Encyclopédie, continuing the family's engagement with the intellectual life of eighteenth-century Europe.
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The white enameled dial with Roman chapters and Arabic minutes, the shaped case and bracket mounted with pierced scrolls, leaves and trellis, the green ground painted with roses and tulips, the bracket with a hunting dog and game bird, the dial and movement signed 'ROMILLY A PARIS', the movement also scratched '89 / 65'
273⁄4 in. (70.5 cm.) high, overall
Provenance
Galerie Jean Wanecq, Paris.
Lot Essay
Jean Romilly, maître in 1752.
Jean Romilly (1714-1796) was a distinguished Genevan watchmaker and journalist. Born into a Huguenot family that had sought refuge in Geneva following the Edict of Fontainebleau, Romilly established a notable reputation through a series of ingenious innovations in the field of horology. Among his most remarkable achievements was the conception of a watch capable of running for an entire year without requiring winding -a remarkable feat for its time. Romilly's intellectual pursuits extended well beyond the workshop. In 1777, he was among the founders of the Journal de Paris, while also contributing to the Encyclopédie edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert. His contributions addressed the theoretical principles underlying watchmaking, reflecting the breadth of his knowledge and his position at the intersection of practical horology and Enlightenment science.
His son, the theologian Jean-Edme Romilly, likewise contributed to the Encyclopédie, continuing the family's engagement with the intellectual life of eighteenth-century Europe.
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Time, Location
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