Introduction
20084M
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Rare Handcrafts
Dome table clock in cloisonné enamel enriched with silver paillons.
The decor of this unique piece in Grand Feu cloisonné enamel drew inspiration from the illuminations in the famous treatise Livre de chasse (Book of the Hunt) written in 1387–1389 by Gaston Phoebus, count of Foix.
To create the contours of the animals, hunters and foliage, the artist used a considerable 33 m of yellow-gold wire (66.72 g) measuring 0.2 x 0.6 mm in cross-section. The scene’s rich tints called for a palette of 54 enamel colors, mainly transparent, with some opaque or opalescent. Six of these colors were needed for the fine detailing, executed in miniature painting on enamel. Some 280 spangles called paillons cut from silver leaf and embedded beneath the transparent enamel illuminate the sky. Each enameled plate underwent 14 firings at a temperature of approximately 745°C. The hour circle is adorned with black enameled Breguet numerals, while the dial center is hand-guilloched in a spiraling pattern and coated with transparent brown enamel in a fine display of flinqué enameling.
This piece is powered by the caliber 17’’’ PEND mechanical movement rewound by an electric motor.
