Louis XV Style Bronze "Pendule A L'Elephant", Signed Sypher & Co.

Lot Details & Additional Photographs

Second half 19th century, the patinated bronze case after a model by Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain (French, 1719-1791), cast as an elephant supporting a drum form case enveloped in foliate and floral cast decoration, winged putto surmounting, the 5 1/4-inch dial with Arabic and Roman chapters signed "Sypher & Co. / New York," dual train movement with suspension spring mount and pendulum, striking on a bell on the hour and half-hour, works backplate and pendulum both stamped "807".

18 1/2 x 15 x 6 1/2 in.

From the Collection of Gustave and Carol Ferri, New Jersey and North Carolina

Sypher & Co. (active 1866-1906) was a prestigious manufacturer and retailer of luxury furniture, decorative arts, and fine arts in New York City. The firm was the successor to Daniel Marley, the well-known antiques and furniture business founded around 1840 and located at 557 Broadway between Spring and Prince Streets.
Obadiah Lum Sypher, born in Flushing, New York in 1833, started working with Daniel Marley in the 1860s, later renaming the company Sypher & Co around 1866. The company had locations listed at 739-41 Broadway (circa 1880-84), then at 860 Broadway (circa 1884-91), and next at 246 Fifth Avenue (circa 1891-98). In the 1880s it also had branch stores in Chicago and in Newport, Rhode Island, with additional agencies in European capitals. In 1885 the firm published The Housekeeper's Quest, an illustrated booklet that gives a comprehensive view of the range of the firm's wares and activities, which included advising customers on complete interior-design schemes.

Examples of Sypher & Co.'s fine craftsmanship are included in various prestigious private and public collections, including a carved mahogany corner chair at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Object Number: 1994.181.

Some rubbing and a few marks to the patina; girth strap with some looseness; moving the dial hands activates the bell chime.
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