A large Louis XV ormolu-mounted kingwood parquetry bracket clock...

A large Louis XV ormolu-mounted kingwood parquetry bracket clock

François Goyer (maître 1740), circa 1750

The segmented white enamel and foliate-cast ormolu dial with blue hand-painted Roman and Arabic numerals and signed "A. R. SANDAUX/A PARIS;" the case and conforming bracket of typical form and mounted with finely cast ormolu rocailles; the case stamped to verso "F. GOYER" and with JME stamp, the backplate also engraved "A Sandaux Paris" and with original movement, the suspension likely replaced. (2).

H: 51, W: 21, D: 11 in. (incl. bracket)

PROVENANCE:

The collection of Georges Perrier, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The Goyer family were, as J.-D. Augarde noted, "a dynasty of artisans well-known in the XVIII century." François Goyer, who received his maîtrise in 1740, and his son, Jean Goyer, who received his own in 1760, were at the center of luxury furniture production in Paris during the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI. The Goyers, both père et fils, have an important place not only in the history of the design of French furniture of the eighteenth century, but also for their unusual role in the development of the furniture corporations which controlled furniture production in Paris.

François Goyer is recorded as having worked exclusively as a "fabricant de batîs de pendules, de cartels, et d'horloges," applying the skills of the master cabinetmaker to to the housings of luxury timepieces, while his son, Jean, apprenticed not only with his father to learn the art of cabinet-making, but also with the famed fondeur-ciseleur Jean-Joseph Saint-Germain (French, 1719-1791). By working as an apprentice in both furniture-making and in bronze casting and gilding, the young Goyer shattered elementary rules and laws of apprenticeship and business practice in eighteenth century France.

A document held at the National Archives in Paris, and mentioned by Augarde, reports a legal conflict between François Goyer and Claude-Joseph Desgodets (who ultimately won the suit) after accusing Goyer of having bought a clock, creating a case , manufacturing and applying the bronzes himself, and then selling the work directly to a client in direct contradiction of corporation law. We also understand that Jean Goyer had a watchmaking workshop (evidence exists of the sale of the workshop to his son, Jean), indicating that he also manufactured his own clocks. Augarde notes the existence of two clocks with the signature of Goyer and dating from the mid-eighteenth century; one of them, a cartel clock entirely in bronze (sold Sotheby's, Monaco, 14 and 15 June, 1981, lot 201), and the other sold Christie's, New York, 13 June, 1985, lot 22. These two objects support the theory that the Goyers took enormous (and, clearly, actionable) liberties in the observance of the corporative rules then in force, likely manufacturing complete objects without authorization or permits.

While cases signed by François Goyer are comparatively rare, the exquisite quality of both the construction and the ormolu mounts of the offered indicate that this work may be a work entirely constructed by Goyer. It evidences a high level of quality as well as an elegant restraint in its design, that clearly places it at the apex of the career of François Goyer, circa 1750.

Other notable examples of the work of Goyer have been sold Hotel Drouot, Paris, 1948 (Nicolay, rep. "F. Goyer", Fig. A.); Christie's, New York, 19 October, 2007, lot 267; Piasa, Paris, 29 June, 2012, lot 185; and Artcurial, Paris, 20 April , 2016, lot 86.

Literature:

Augarde, J.-D., éd.,Les Ouvriers du temps, Genève: Antiquorum, 1996.

Nicolay, Jean, L'Art et la manière des maîtres ébénistes français au XVIIIe siècle, Editions Pygmalion: Paris, 1982, p. 116.