French Japonisme Ormolu and Cloisonne Three-piece Clockset by Japy Freres

Comprising a mantel clock and a pair of three-branch candelabra, the clock suspended between columns and Buddhistic lions, the clockworks stamped with Japy Frères cachet, the candelabra decorated en suite

Design is attributed to Henri and George Pannier, L'Escalier de Cristal 

Maker: Japy Freres (1806-1930)
Origin: French, Paris 
Date: Late 19th century
Dimension: (Clock) 15 1/2 in tall; (Candleholders) 12-1/4 in high

Recent scholarship has revealed this model, specifically the distinctive clock design, as the genius of George and Henry Pannier for the haut-luxefirm of l’Escalier de Cristal. Notably, in 1885, Georges and Henry Pannier succeeded their father and, much in the tradition of the 18th century marchands-merciers, often commissioned fashionable designers and ébénistessuch as Edouard Lièvre and Gabriel Viardot to create ‘sinojaponais’ decorations incorporating enamel, Baccarat crystal, Japanese lacquer and other exotic materials. L’Escalier de Cristal ultimately became the foremost purveyors of masterpieces of the Japonismemovement in the last quarter of the 19th century. The present clock design appears in Pannier’s carnet rouge which survives from the firm’s operation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries (A. Masseau & D. Masseau, L’Escalier de Cristal: le luxe à Paris 1809-1923, Paris, 2021, p. 241). Two related clock garnitures, one in blue cloisonne enamel and the other in gilt-decorated porcelain, are illustrated op. cit. 178. The latter example in porcelain was sold at Chistie’s, London, 20 May 2021, lot 131 (£37,500).