Gustave SERRURIER-BOVY (1858-1910). Rare clock by Gustave Se - Lot 209

Gustave SERRURIER-BOVY (1858-1910). Rare clock by Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, dating from the 1907-1910 period. Serrurier-Bovy designed his furniture in series, each corresponding to an identifiable stylistic period. Each period is characterized by recurring decorative elements that serve as an implicit signature. For example, the so-called Silex series (1904-1905) is distinguished by the use of light-colored woods, colored square-head screws (blue, green or red), and the application of stencil motifs repeated throughout the furniture. The extremely rare clock presented here is the only model known to date. Provenance: Mosan sale 2018, private collection from Liège. It clearly bears the hallmarks of a late phase of Serrurier-Bovy's work, around 1910. This period corresponds to the end of his career, with limited production from the Liège factory. Ornamental elements confirming this attribution are as follows: -Mosaic inlay of small, contrasting squares of wood, forming a checkerboard pattern. This motif appears on a famous buffet-vitrine reproduced on a 1910 postcard showing the showroom on Rue de la Joie in Liège (cf. Jean-Grégoire Wathelet, Serrurier-Bovy, Atelier Vokaer, Brussels, p. 102). The same motif is repeated on the shop window doors (see p. 106), marking the transition from Art Nouveau to Modernism. Cut-out brass plate used as a cleanliness plate around the mechanism (mechanism not from the Serrurier workshops). The shape of this plate, with its slightly smoothed edges, perfectly highlights Serrurier-Bovy's most famous leitmotif: the four openwork squares. As usual, the corners of these squares are slightly curved, a detail perfectly respected here. The overall composition combines Serrurier-Bovy's own Belgian style with the influence of Darmstadt, giving this piece a modernist aesthetic that already heralds Art Deco. It is therefore unequivocally a genuine work by Serrurier-Bovy, requiring no attribution. Although the archives are incomplete, as no drawings or photographs of this model have been found, the recurring motifs, manufacturing processes and formal vocabulary unquestionably confirm the piece's authenticity. This clock is thus a rare and remarkable example of Walloon artistic heritage. Height: 32 cm. Dimensions: 19.8 x 10 cm. Presented in its original condition. To refresh / Restore.