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Clock portico Empire Watchmaker : HUNZIKER 1805
| Materials: | Bronze mercury gilding, Marble |
|---|---|
| Era: | Empire 1804-1815 |
| Period: | XIXe siècle |
| Provenance: | French |
- Restored to original condition with original appearance.
- Full overhaul of watch movement, perfect working order.
- Perfect authenticity, without modification.
- Original gilding.
- Winding key & pendulum
- Operating instructions, how to start your clock.
- Certificate of authenticity, invoice.
- Ringtone on ancient bell, hour and a half-hour
Height: 52 cm
Width: 32 cm
Depth: 10 cm
Description
An Empire period portico clock, circa 1805, in finely chased and mercury-gilded bronze, resting on an elegant black marble base with rigorously symmetrical lines inspired by Antiquity. The composition adopts the classic portico form, with two rectangular uprights supporting a simple entablature on which the suspended circular movement is mounted.
The piece is distinguished by the refined contrast between the depth of the polished black marble and the matte, satin sheen of the mercury-gilding. The large, domed, circular dial in white enamel is signed Hunziker, a clockmaker listed in Tardy's dictionary of French clockmakers. It features black Roman numerals, a railway minute track, and delicate openwork hands. The dial's frame is adorned with a beaded frieze and rows of finely chased stylized leaves.
The clock's apex is crowned with an imposing floral bouquet bursting from a fluted vase, surrounded by a garland of ivy and cascading clusters of foliage on either side of the dial. This naturalistic ornamentation lends fluidity and movement to the otherwise austere architecture. On either side stand two facing griffins, mythological creatures with the body of a lion and outstretched wings, symbols of vigilance and power inherited from the decorative vocabulary of antiquity, revived during the Empire period. The black marble uprights are embellished with gilt-bronze appliqués depicting antique-style floral compositions: flowering vases, palmettes, acanthus leaves, and finely openwork scrolls. The stepped bases are highlighted with gilt-bronze twists and rest on delicately guilloché circular feet.
Below the dial, a spectacular heraldic motif features two facing eagles with their wings fully spread. The birds, rendered with remarkable naturalism in the detail of their plumage, face each other. Each holds in its beak a leafy oak branch with deeply veined leaves, a traditional symbol of power, fidelity, and permanence. The two branches frame the scene and meet in an elegant curve, culminating in a spectacular radiant sun centered on a mask, evoking a solar figure in the Neoclassical style. The rectangular plinth is adorned on its front with relief friezes depicting winged putti moving through vegetal scrolls, framing a central floral motif rendered in a rosette.
Through the quality of its mercury gilding, the richness of its decorative repertoire borrowed from Antiquity, and the elegance of its black marble and gilt bronze construction, this clock is a remarkable example of the Empire style of the early 19th century.
Original mechanism unaltered, wire suspension, striking the hours and half-hours on an antique bell.
Questions
Easily pay for your purchases using our highly protected bank card system with SSL certificate and 256 bit encryption, ensuring confidentiality when any information is transferred. On a web browser, the OVH SSL certificate activates the HTTPS protocol and displays a padlock in the navigation bar. This shows that any transaction is encrypted and confidential, and that your website address has been authenticated.
Our items mainly stem from the inheritance of objects, preciously looked after over numerous generations. There is a stringent selection process for each object ensuring perfect authenticity and the optimal amount of gilding
We do not use the term “Restoration”, which implies a significant transformation or major repair that modifies an object’s authenticity or original appearance. Each object is completely dismantled, then thoroughly cleaned part by part; our cleaning technique restores shine without adversely affecting the gold. We then put the clock back together, returning all the various parts to their origin location, as well as all the nuts and screws. Subsequently, the item is inspected to ensure it is perfectly even, symmetrical, and smooth, etc.
The clock’s movement undergoes a complete overhaul; it is totally dismantled, cleaned and each individual part is polished. The duration of this procedure affects the shine: we prefer to obtain a brilliant shine, in keeping with the gilding of the object. To increase the strength and quality of the gears, we apply a very important procedure, known as bouchonnage, to correct for wear accumulated over years of operation, consisting in the placing cork of stoppers in any pivot holes that have become deformed by wear. After the clock has been completely reassembled, it is tested over a long period of time to ensure that the movement, as well as the hour and half-hour strikes, are operating correctly.
- Akzeptierte Kreditkarten: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, Discover und Diners Club.
- Bank transfer: You can also send us a copy of the bank transfer order to speed up the processing of your order.
Upon dispatch of your order, you will be sent a parcel tracking number by email.
Delivery anywhere in the world.
France: - Clocks: 3 days preparation work + 2 days for delivery - Total: 5 business days - Decorative objects: 1 days preparation work + 2 days for delivery - Total: 3 business days
Europe - Clocks: 3 days preparation work + 3 days for delivery - Total: 6 business days - Decorative objects: 1 day preparation work + 3 days for delivery - Total: 6 business days
Other countries - Clocks: 3 days preparation work + 3-8 days for delivery - Decorative objects: 1 days preparation work + 3-8 days for delivery
Easily pay for your purchases using our highly protected bank card system with SSL certificate and 256 bit encryption, ensuring confidentiality when any information is transferred. On a web browser, the OVH SSL certificate activates the HTTPS protocol and displays a padlock in the navigation bar. This shows that any transaction is encrypted and confidential, and that your website address has been authenticated.
You will receive—by email and a paper version—an explanatory document containing all the necessary instructions and recommendations for operating your clock. We also provide assistance over the phone to guide you through the start-up procedure. Of course, we will continue to be available—by both telephone and email—to answer any questions you may have. For calls in German or English, please make an appointment first via email, providing us with your telephone number, and the date and time you wish to contact us. Contact.
- Click on the button “add to basket” to add an object. - Once you have finished your order, click on “view contents of basket” located at the bottom of the screen or on small the “shopping trolley” icon at the top right. - click “Complete my order” or “order” - Fill in the invoicing address details, you also have the possibility to send the parcel to a different address. - Select the payment method - To confirm your order, click “order now”
By email, you will be sent: - confirmation of your order & payment - Parcel tracking information
Every purchase comes with a certificate of authenticity and an invoice
High quality certificate of authenticity printed on photo paper with text and photos providing all the information concerning your object. Detailed invoice indicating the price paid for the object.
