Parcel-Gilt Bronze, Black and Yellow Sienna Marble Clock Garniture

Cast by Georges Emile Henri Servant and Émile Hébert, Paris, circa 1880

The bronze dial with remnants of enamelled signature G.Servant, the bust depicting Isis inscribed Emile.Hebert, the movement stamped G.S Medaille D'Or 1867 and numbered 3127

Clock: 24 ¼ in (62 cm) high, 16 in (40 cm) wide, 7 ½ in (19 cm) deep
Each column: 23 in (58 cm) high

cf. The Illustrated Catalogue of the Paris International Exhibition 1878, p.64
The Art Journal 1867, p.20, p.116

Émile Hébert produced romantic bronzes and marbles, as well as furniture and decorative pieces in the Neo-classical and Egyptian styles. A student of his father, Pierre Hébert, and of Feuchère, Hébert participated at the Salon from 1846 to 1893, exhibiting bronzes such as Toujours et jamais (1863). Some of his bronze statues are included in the collections of public institutions such as his Amazon Preparing for Battle, which is in the collection of the National Gallery in Washington, DC, and another captivating bronze composition, Mephistopheles, which is in the collection of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University. Hébert was also a renowned portrait artist and there is a terracotta bust by Hébert of Honoré de Balzac in the collection of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

The Parisian bronzier and fondeur Georges Emile Henri Servant produced a diverse inventory from his premises at 137, rue Vielle-du-Temple. He was praised at the international exhibitions for his quality of work. His success was confirmed at the 1867 Paris Exposition where he was awarded a gold medal for his neo-Greek and Egyptian models. In 1874, he was awarded France’s highest honour the ‘Ordre national de la Legion d’honneur’.

An important Neo-classical gilt bronze, ebony and marble table, a collaboration between Servant and Hébert, may be found in the collection of the Musée d’Orsay. The design for this table was exhibited at the 1878 Paris Great Exhibition and is illustrated in The Illustrated Catalogue of the 1878 Paris International Exhibition, p.64, which reads, ‘M. Servant, a renowned ebeniste of Paris, maintains the high rank he has long held among the foremost cabinet-makers of France. The table is described as …a classical Table supported by four figures of flute musicians, an adapted copy from the original in the British Museum… It largely aids the Exhibition by works that claim supremacy in the art of which M. Servant is a leading professor’.