Beschreibung:

A fine French Empire gilt brass mounted sidereal longcase regulator of two-week duration with annual calendar and centre seconds Henry Lepaute, Paris, circa 1805 The four pillar movement with three rectangular plates, the first two with fifth pillar and enclosing the five-wheel going train with Harrison’s maintaining power and pin-wheel escapement regulated by massive nine-bar ‘gridiron’ temperature compensated pendulum with ten inch lenticular bob, the sidereal time and annual calendar indications comprising an additional three-wheel train with high pinion counts and six spoke crossings driven from a pinion to the fourth wheel of the going train and terminating with the annual calendar disc set beneath the plates, the calendar arbor fitted with a kidney-shaped cam engaging with a sprung follower cut with a perpendicular toothed arc engaging with a wheel fitted to the equation of time indication disc to the centre of the dial, the 10.25 inch circular silvered brass dial with independent central disc engraved with Arabic five minutes and inscribed TEMPS VRAI within minute ring to circumference, the fixed Roman numeral chapter ring with conforming minute scale to inner edge signed henry Lepaute a Paris to upper margin and pierced with curved sector incorporating steel pointer for the rotating annual calendar disc with months of the year annotated in French set behind the plate above the truncated VI numeral, the outer margin with Arabic five minute track, with blued steel Breguet type moon hands and fine ogee moulded cast gilt brass bezel, the movement and dial supported on a substantial cast brass bracket screwed onto the case backboard and incorporating pendulum suspension, the case with brass edged box upstand over generous projecting cornice applied with brass bound quarter-round mouldings over scroll-outline corbel dentils and frieze bordered with further brass mouldings, the full-height rectangular glazed front door with cast brass mouldings to the aperture, the sides with conforming slender windows, on panel fronted plinth base with brass-edged ogee top moulding and centred with a cast gilt brass Napoleonic eagle within laurel wreath surround and brass moulded frame, on conforming skirt base, 207cm (81.5ins) high. Provenance: Pen Moel, near Chepstow. The illustrious Lepaute dynasty of clockmakers was established by brothers Jean-Andre and Jean-Baptiste Lepaute in 1750 with the partnership being officially constituted on 28th October 1758. They served as ‘Horloger du Roi’ and as a consequence also supplied timepieces to leading nobility. The firm were joined by the founder’s nephews Henry-Lepaute (born 1749 with the birth name Pierre Henry and Pierre-Basile Lepaute. Jean-Andre retired from the business in 1775 (his health deteriorating causing him to subsequently become insane) and the firm was purchased by Pierre-Basile from the surviving uncle, Jean-Baptiste, in 1789. In 1795 Henry-Lepaute left the business to set up on his own and Pierre-Basile brought in his nephew Jean-Joseph who worked alongside his uncle until 1813 when he also left to set up alone. Little is known of Henry-Lepaute after leaving the family firm in 1795, this may be due to the fact that some sources suggest that he died in 1806 which would certainly account for the fact that very few timepieces by him appear to survive. The name Henry-Lepaute was subsequently used by Augustin Michael Henry who in 1854 added his mother’s maiden name (she was niece to Jean-Andre and Jean-Baptiste Lepaute) to his in order to trade on the ‘heritage’ of the family to which he was connected. The current lot employs an unusual arrangement to show solar time via an independent disc to the centre of the dial. The slight back and forth rotation of this disc is controlled by a pivoted follower engaging with a cam cut with profile dictated by the equation of time fixed to the annual calendar arbor beneath. As the cam rotates the disc will be automatically adjusted to provide a