Maison Millet

Bronze-caster
(Active from 1853 to 1918)

Exceptional rotating Clock

France
Circa 1889

Signed MILLET A PARIS

Height : 72 cm (28,3 in.) ; Width : 59 cm (23,2 in.) ; Depth : 26 cm (10,2 in.)

Provenance : Château de Paradis, La Croix-en-Touraine, France

Sumptuous rotating clock made in « Brèche sanguine » marble and gilded bronze. In the form of a covered vase, the belly is embellished with bunches of rushes and a pair of winged tritons holding a trident. The rotating circles are enameled with Arabic numbers for the minutes and Roman numbers for the hours. The circled lid is topped by an exploded pomegranate. It rests on a quadrangular pedestal decorated with a dolphin among the waves.

Renowned for the quality of its chiseling and the choice of materials, the Millet firm had a large workshop with many workers, using its own bronze models and enjoyed collaborations with famous sculptors and bronze-casters such as Claude Marioton.

A similar model is presented by Maison Millet for the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889.

Biography

The firm of Théodore Millet was founded in 1853. A very talented specialist in 18th Century reproductions, Millet produced furniture and artistic bronzes of the highest quality. He was one of the few cabinet-makers to obtain authorization from the Château de Versailles to make in 1902 a replica of Queen Marie-Antoinette’s great jewel cabinet. As an artist of great merit and Specialising in « meubles et bronzes d’art, genre ancien et moderne », Millet obtained the highest rewards such as the Gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889 for his first participation, and the Grand Prize at the Universal Exhibition of 1900. The photographic archives show, among the workshops views and the parisian shop, Millet’s stand at the Universal Exhibition in Saint-Louis (US) in 1904. The firm’s influence internationally is then through its antenna in New-York « Duryea and Potter », 469 fifth avenue, New-Yok. The firm lasted until 1918.

Bibliography

L’ameublement d’art français, 1850-1900, Camille Mestdagh, Les Ed. de l’Amateur, Paris, 2010, p. 244
Le mobilier français du XIXe siècle, dictionnaire des ébénistes et des menuisiers, Denise Ledoux-Lebard, Editions de l’Amateur, 2000, p. 482 et 483