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13 Furniture & Decorative Arts auction on 26 March 2020 Symbol of an entire era Copernicus, Galileo, Keppler, Newton – some of the most important European scholars devoted them- selves over centuries to the study of astronomical re- lationships and the laws of our solar system. An impor- tant part of their researchwas aimed at proving that the Earth is part of a heliocentric solar system and that the Church's geocentric world view was outdated. There is no question that such considerations shook the foun- dations of their time. In the Inquisition proceedings against Galileo Galilei, this conflict between science and the Church reached its most extreme point. In light of this historical background it is all the more interest- ing to consider the material evidence of this revolution. The astronomical clock by François Ducommun to be offered on 26 March is an eloquent example of the em- bodiment of Enlightenment theories in everyday life and interiors. This clock, elaborately crafted around 1820, served above all to impressively visualise the very slow move- ments of celestial bodies in the firmament. The sun is at the centre of the precisely coordinated construction that surmounts the clock. An enamelled globe repre- senting the earth slowly moves around the sun over the course of a year. The globe also rotates once on its own axis every 24 hours, and is in turn orbited every 29.5 days by an enamelled moon sphere. Thus the as- tronomical interplay of a star, a planet and its moon are demonstrated precisely and vividly. The chronometer that strikes the hour is located in close and evident connection with the superordinate system responsi- ble for the course of the day, month and year. Last but not least, the dial contains twelve enamel cartouches decorated with the signs of the zodiac, referring to still other complex astronomical relationships. AN ESTEEMEDMASTER The Swiss watchmaker François Ducommun-dit- Boudry (1763–1839) was part of an internationally re- nowned family of watchmakers in La Chaux-de-Fonds: his father, AbramDucommun (1723–1797), was amas- ter watchmaker and specialized in the manufacture of planetariums, and François’s maternal grandfather, Josué Robert (1691–1771), was the royal court watch- maker to King Frederick William I of Prussia. François Ducommun's creations enjoyed great pop- ularity because of their aesthetic elegance combined with the finest technical complexity. A talented crafts- man, he made precision tools for watchmakers as well as creating barometers, compasses, metric scales, graphometers, spirit levels, pantographs, sextants, thermometers and other scientific instruments. His most impressive achievement is certainly the large planetary clock completed in 1817 and now on dis- play in the International Watchmaking Museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds, which presents a perpetual cal- endar and our planetary system as it was known at the beginning of the 19 th century. In addition, he created a series of "Copernican clocks", from which the one shown here also originates. A similar model of this as- tronomical clock, but with a brass case, is in the Beyer Clock and Watch Museum in Zurich. Three of the nine table clocks of this series known today are in the col- lection of the International Watchmaking Museum, and one with an alabaster case is nearly identical to the one being offered on 26 March. A particularly rare and at the same time revealing his- torical document is the portrait of François Ducommun (ill. 2), which shows him with one of his creations. This portrait, in the collection of the International Watch- making Museum, was painted around 1820/30 and not only testifies to Ducommun's status but also to the social position of the entire watchmaking guild at that time. These extraordinary timepieces were not the work of anonymous craftsmen, but of highly esteemed masters, both in Switzerland and abroad, who were able to combine complex engineering technology with excellent design at the highest level in their renowned manufactories. The legendary reputation of the Swiss watch industry exists in part thanks to craftsmen from the period around 1800, such as the Ducommuns. 1 A Swiss astronomical “Copernicus” clock. Circa 1820. F. Ducommun à La Chaux-de-Fonds. H 42 cm. Estimate: CHF 120 000/200 000 2 Anonymous. Portrait of François Ducommun with an astronomical clock. Oil on canvas. ©Musée interna- tional d'horlogerie (MIH), La Chaux-de-Fonds 1 2 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION FURNITURE Stephan Koller skoller@kollerauctions.com ONLINE CATALOGUES www.kollerauctions.com