257 - Jean Duhard

Jean Duhard A rare, decorative, single-handed "Oignon" from Bordeaux with enamel decoration Dimensions: 56 mm, circa 1700, Weight: 156 g, Origin: France Case: Brass, fire-gilt; the reverse and bezel in ivory-colored enamel, painted with birds of paradise and trees in gold. Dial: Gilded, engraved center, white enamel cartouches with blue Roman numerals. Movement: Full-plate movement, chain/fusee, three-arm steel balance. Jean Duhard was a well-known watchmaker (horloger) in Bordeaux who worked around the turn of the 17th to the 18th century. Documentary evidence indicates that he was active between 1691 and 1718. Pocket watches made by Duhard—some of them highly elaborate, often in the form of so-called “oignon” watches with verge escapements—as well as longcase and wall clocks (pendules) occasionally appear at international auctions today or are held in museum collections. His watch cases were often richly decorated with enamel painting (including work in the style of Geneva enamelers such as the Mussard family) or fine gilding. One example of his pendules is preserved in the Musée des Arts décoratifs et du Design de Bordeaux. Tardy’s *Dictionnaire des Horlogers Français* lists Jean Duhard on page 203 as active from 1691 to 1718. Case: very good, hairline scratches, slightly chipped. Dial: very good, hairline scratches. Movement: very good, runs well, cleaning recommended.