Table clock. "The magic lantern". France, Directory period, ca.1800.

Table clock. "The magic lantern". France, Directory period, ca.1800.
Signed on the dial by the retailer or marchand: "Varcollier a Marseille".
Mercury gilt bronze.
Manufacturer: Constantin-Louis Detouche, Paris.
Designer: Jean-Simon Deverberie.
It works.
Measurements: 46 cm (height).

Sculptural clock of extreme refinement. It is a work made by the prestigious watchmaker Constantin-Louis Detouche, whose execution responds to an original design attributed to the famous Parisian bronze artist Jean-Simon Deverberie, creator of works full of symbolism and technical refinement.

The specimen we show bears the signature of the Marseille watch buyer: it was a standard and very common commercial practice in France at the time for the retailer (Varcollier) to order the pieces without signing on the dial and then put his own name and city ("Varcollier a Marseille") on the dial. For the end customer in Marseille, Varcollier was the guarantor of quality.

"The magic lantern" represents an allegory of love and time as illusion. We see Eros, the god of love, with his characteristic bow and quiver, carrying a magic lantern (precursor of cinema and creator of "phantasmagoria"). Here it has been transformed into a clock, as a metaphorical nod to the deceptiveness of perception.

Eros points towards the clock face, emphasizing with the gesture that time is an illusion, just like the images projected by the magic lantern. His body and face are modeled with great precision. The lantern is surmounted by a torch, and the whole set rests on legs in the shape of eagle claws, reaffirming the influence of the imperial style.

The dial, in white enamel with Roman numerals, is framed by star-shaped circles in cobalt blue enamel.

Constantin-Louis Detouche (1810-1889) was one of the most influential watchmakers of 19th century France. Renowned for both his technical precision and his refined aesthetic sense, Detouche was appointed official watchmaker to the city of Paris and to Emperor Napoleon III. His workshop, located at 158 and 160 Rue Saint-Martin, became one of the most prestigious watchmaking production centers in Europe. Detouche's reputation crossed borders. He was awarded the gold medal at the Besanzon Universal Exhibition (1860) and at the London Exhibition (1862), where his firm was recognized for the excellence of its chronometers, regulators and mathematical mechanisms. In 1853, he was decorated with the Legion of Honor, and later received the Cross of the Order of the Dannebrog from the King of Denmark for his innovations, including his famous electric watch. Detouche also had a direct link to the history of scientific and educational watchmaking: in 1887 it financed the third edition of Claude Saunier's influential treatise "Traité d'Horlogerie Moderne Théorique et Pratique", considered one of the fundamental works of modern watchmaking. The firm even collaborated with the illusionist Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin on technically advanced creations of great artistic value. Among his most outstanding works are the astronomical regulators of great complexity and beauty, one of which is preserved today in the Manufacture F.P. Journe in Geneva. Detouche's production is synonymous with elegance, innovation and precision, and his watches, such as the one presented here, remain cult objects among collectors and lovers of technical art.

Jean-Simon Deverberie (1764-1824) was one of the most singular bronze craftsmen and designers of Paris in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Renowned for his bold imagination and unmistakable style, Deverberie was a pioneer in introducing new aesthetic languages into French decorative art, fusing neoclassical references with exotic, allegorical and theatrical themes. Although he worked in the transition between the Louis XVI period and the Empire, his work reached a visual maturity that anticipated the decorative eclecticism of the 19th century. Established in Paris, he opened his workshop at 14 rue Barbette and later at 5 rue des Fossés-du-Temple, where he designed and assembled clocks, chandeliers, decorative sculptures and luxury furniture. One of his greatest achievements was the introduction of the African or American female figure as a sculptural support for clocks - a radical innovation at the time - which gave rise to the famous "l'Afrique" model and its counterpart "l'Amérique". These pieces, known as "pendules au nègre", are today the object of study and conservation in museums such as the Louvre, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Getty Museum. Deverberie's work is characterized by meticulous attention to detail, mastery of gilded bronze and a decorative vision that transcends the functional. He collaborated with renowned watchmakers to mount his sculptures on high-precision mechanisms, resulting in artistic timepieces of great originality. Many of his creations were destined for an aristocratic and bourgeois European clientele, which is evidence of his commercial success during his lifetime.