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Clock Atypical clock featuring sphinxes
| Materials: | Patinated bronze, Gilt bronze |
|---|---|
| Era: | Napoléon III 1852 - 1870 (Second Empire) |
| Period: | XIXe siècle |
| Style: | Empire |
| 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: 35 cm
Width: 19 cm
Depth: 11 cm
Description
This remarkable clock, crafted from gilt and patinated bronze during the Napoleon III period (circa 1860), features a highly original composition inspired by 19th-century animalier and decorative themes. Its structure is organized around a cylindrical drum representing the stylized body of a fantastical quadruped; it rests elegantly on four long, powerful feline legs that terminate in large, finely chased claws. The cylinder—rhythmically patterned with longitudinal fluting that alternates between polished surfaces, beaded borders, and engine-turned bands—bears a large circular dial on its front, framed by a bezel featuring a double row of beads. The white enamel dial displays an elegant "railway" minute track with fine markings, while the hours are indicated by large blue Roman numerals set within Rococo-style cartouches, delicately embellished with gilt arabesques. The openwork gilt-bronze hands, intricately cut in the Louis XV style, meet at a finely chased central rosette. The dial is signed "Gérard Fils à Nancy," attesting to its provenance.
The top of the drum is surmounted by a square platform supporting a spectacular gilt-bronze floral arrangement. A wide corolla of open leaves cradles a bouquet of full blooms, buds, and chased foliage. This substantial naturalistic ornament adds verticality and refinement to the piece, while enhancing the composition's sense of luxury.
The clock rests on a rectangular, stepped base of patinated bronze; its three visible sides are adorned with gilt-bronze mounts of exceptional chasing quality. The front features a symmetrical design centered on an antique vase from which a palmette emerges, flanked by two winged female sphinxes crouching face-to-face in a hieratic pose. Their female torsos, outspread wings, and leonine bodies are linked by a harmonious tangle of acanthus scrolls and leafy volutes, creating a perfectly balanced composition inspired by the classical repertoire revived in the 19th century. The side panels feature an antique amphora framed by sweeping acanthus scrolls that form an elegant openwork pattern, while a finely chased foliate frieze runs along the base of the plinth. The entire piece rests on a molded, patinated bronze plinth, embellished with a gilded relief frieze and four flattened, circular gilded bronze feet, ensuring stability while providing a highly refined finish.
With its unusual architecture, the sophisticated combination of gilded and patinated bronze, the richness of its naturalistic and mythological ornamentation, and the exceptional finesse of its chasing, this clock stands as a remarkable example of decorative metalwork from the Napoleon III period (circa 1860).
The original mechanism is intact and unaltered. It strikes the hours and half-hours on an antique bell with a clear and authentic sound.
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.
