Chased and gilt bronze clock decorated with a young woman dr - Lot 468

Chased and gilt bronze clock decorated with a young woman draped in the antique style reading. White enamel dial signed RIDEL in Paris. Late 18th or early 19th century. H_38 cm W_19 cm D_14 cm, small chips to the enamel on the dial. Laurent Ridel, one of the most important Parisian watchmakers of the late 18th century and the early years of the following century, signed his work "Ridel à Paris". Although the date of registration of his letters of mastery is unknown, we do know that he set up his workshop on rue aux Ours, and that he immediately gained a high profile among Parisian luxury watchmaking enthusiasts. Like the best Parisian watchmakers of his time, Ridel called on the best craftsmen to make the cases of his clocks, collaborating with the bronziers Feuchère, Denière and Deverberie, with the enamellers Coteau and Merlet, and with Monginot the elder for the springs. He quickly built up a rich clientele, including Jean-Marie Chamboissier, jeweler Louis-Nicolas Duchesne and Mesdames de France, daughters of Louis XV, for whom Ridel delivered a clock in 1789 for their Bellevue château.