Fire-Gilt Bronze Figural Mantel Clock, 1830

French Gilt Bronze Figural Mantel Clock with Rare Double Patina, Around 1830
~~ Excellent condition, fully overhauled ~~
A beautiful, original antique French gilded bronze mantle / table clock.
Important French clock from the reign of Charles X (1824-1830). It is in excellent clean and running condition having been fully overhauled by a professional clockmaker, and it is a true eye-catcher. The clock has a 2 weeks (!!) spring-driven movement with anchor escapement and silk suspended pendulum. It strikes the hours and halves on a bell with count wheel striking. It comes complete with its original pendulum, winding key and bell. We give a one-year warranty to the movement.

The movement is of high quality and it comes from a „FC” monogrammed clockmaker who worked in the first decades of the XIX century.
Only one other movement from this watchmaker is known - which is in a private collection - upon request, I will send you pictures of it in a message for comparability.
The French masters were famous all over the world for the filigree of their castings, the detail of their chasing, the picturesqueness of gilding and patination. Rich and great quality of bronze chasing with 3 aspects: old gilding in two tones and dark green patina. Condition of the case is excellent, gilding is beautifully clean and bright with hardly any wear or discolouration. The dial is silvered brass with beautifully hand made hands with roman numerals for the hours and railings for the minutes and is also in excellent condition with no damage. The entire surface is protected by the „Zapon” varnish suitable for protect especially gold and silver jewelry, so no fingerprints remain on the surface, you can touch or move the clock easily. (And the silver-plated dial will not oxidize either).

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The following allegorical scene can be seen on the mound that includes the clock: a seated woman is holding a nest that has fallen from the tree next to her, and she is putting it back on the branch, where the bird is waiting for it. Three eggs and a hungry chick can be found in the nest kept by the lady.
Allegories about generosity, helpfulness and goodness were fashionable in Romanticism; this clock is a fine example of this era.
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From the end of the XVIIIth century, artists rose up against the classical rigidity. The cult of idealised beauty is expressed, and their preference turned for more realistic subjects, closer to their time. This new style, which exalts emotion, sensitivity, imagination and fantasy, can also be seen on Romantic clocks.

During the Restoration period, bronzeworkers took a leading role in the art of clockmaking. They translated with virtuosity anecdotal scenes, episodes of daily life, allegories and exotic scenes.

The 1820s and 1830s marked an evolution in the ornaments of the clocks, which are decorated with more or less antiquisite motifs such as horns of aboundance, friezes of palmettes, finely chiselled garlands framing the gilt bronze movement, characteristic motifs of the Restoration.


The clock was originally kept under a glass cover (that's why it has to be wound up so rarely, and that's why there is no door on the back of the movement), but later - without modifying the structure - a copper covering element was added to the back, which protects it from dust. Of course, it can still be kept under glass.
This clock will be a beautiful eye-catcher in any room or place that it is put in. It is a very fine quality piece of art.

Diameter of the dial: 9 cm = 3,5 in
Height: 37 cm = 14,5 in
Width: 24 cm = 9,4 in
Depth: 10 cm = 3,9 in
Weight = 3,5 kg = 7,7 lb unpacked