A Napoleon III Onyx and Champlevé Enamel Pedestal Clock

A rare Louis XVI style gilt-bronze mounted marble annular dial pedestal clock in the manner of Jean-André and Jean-Baptiste Lepaute, attributed to Dufaud, Paris. The eight-day twin-train movement with circular plates and lateral lever escapement on a gilt platform, with cut bimetallic compensation balance, flat balance spring and index regulator, striking the hours and half-hours on a bell. The dial having twin revolving chapter rings with white enamel cartouches with Roman numerals on a revolving ring, with a revolving minute ring above with Arabic numerals, the time indicated by Cupid pointing with an arrow. This fine annular dial or ‘cercles tournants’ clock...

A fine Napoléon III gilt-bronze and sèvres style cobalt blue ground 'Jewelled' Porcelain Three-Piece Clock Garniture Comprising a mantel clock and a pair of five-light vase candel...

An exceptional Louis XVI style champlevé enamel and gilt-bronze mantel clock with finely painted neoclassical scenes by Leroy & Fils. French, circa 1880. Stamped to the movement ‘LEROY & FILS A PARIS, 823’. This fine gilt-bronze and champlevé enamel clock has an arched case with outset bulbous columns to the angles, it is surmounted by a drum top with a pierced scroll and ball finial and applied with expressive cherub mounts. The front and sides of the clock are all exceptionally finely painted with neoclassical scenes of figures in an architectural setting and the top and base enriched with fine polychrome champlevé enamel. The clock has an enamelled chapter ring with Roman numerals interspersed with anthemion devices and a twin barrelled, eight-day movement striking on a bell. The firm of Leroy et Fils was founded by Bazile Charles Leroy in 1789. He was a clockmaker to the Emperor Napoléon, The Duke of Orleans, The Duke of Bourbon and Princess Pauline. In 1823, he filed a patent for self-winding atmospheric clock operated by weathervane and in 1840 a patent for wind clocks. When Charles Louis died in 1865 his son Louis Leroy...

A gilt bronze Empire clock in the form of a classical urn, by Maison Lepautre. French, circa 1825. The dial signed 'Lepaute a Paris'. The clock has an ornate cast bezel with a 3-inch porcelain dial with Roman numerals and Breguet style hands. The twin train eight-day movement with outside count wheel striking on a bell and silk thread suspension. This elegant Empire style clock has a gilt bronze case in the form of a classical urn with swan neck handles and a winged cherub to the neck. The circular pedestal base is raised on a footed stepped square plinth. The Lepaute family were the premier French clockmakers of their day. Their significance lies in their contribution to the clock making industry which had hitherto come under the trade of locksmiths. The family held the brevet Horlogers du Roi. Jean-André Lepaute (1720–1789) arrived in Paris at an early age and in 1740 founded the family business. A skilled artist and mechanic, he quickly gained an excellent reputation. He was received as maître by the clockmakers guild in 1759, was granted royal lodgings from the king in The Luxembourg Palace, and was entrusted with the construction of the majority of the great public clocks of Paris. He executed, amongst others, those in The Luxembourg Palace, the Jardin des Plantes, the Château de Bellevue and the Château des Ternes. His clock at Paris’s École Militaire still works today. Three editions of his Traité d’Horlogerie were published in Paris in 1755, 1760 and 1767. A small volume, Description de Plusieurs Ouvrages d’Horlogerie appeared in 1764. Jean-André’s wife, Nicole-Reine Etable de la Brière (1723-1788), was a highly esteemed mathematician and astronomer. Her passion for science lent itself to Lepaute’s work and she played an active role in the scientific and mathematical aspects of the clock making. Jean-André’s younger brother Jean-Baptiste Lepaute (1727-1802) joined him in Paris in 1747 and immediately started working for the family business. He was received as maître in 1776 and was known for the clocks he constructed for the Paris Hôtel de Ville (1780), destroyed in a fire of 1871, and for the Hôtel des Invalides (1784). Jean-Baptiste took over the workshop when Jean-André retired in 1775. After Jean-Baptiste’s death in 1802, the firm was taken over by his nephew Pierre-Basil Lepaute (1750-1843) where he was duly joined by his own nephew Jean-Joseph (1768-1846) and son Pierre-Michel (1785-1849). By 1816, Pierre-Michel Lepaute was in charge of the business. His masterpieces include the astronomical clock in Paris’s Bureau...

Antique French Green Onyx Champlevé Enamel Marble Ormolu Pedestal Clock French, Late 19th Century Height 136 cm, Width 41 cm, Depth 33 cm An impressive French pedestal clock in gr...

This colorful pedestal clock has been crafted from fine red marble and green onyx, and beautifully decorated with gilt bronze (ormolu) and champlevé enamel. While a popular crafts material in ancient times, onyx was largely forgotten about until its rediscovery in the mid-19th century in Algeria by a French marble-worker called Delmonte. Onyx became highly fashionable in France following this discovery, and it was used to create a variety of decorative art objects. The clock features a green onyx cube-shaped case, which is surmounted by a slightly projecting red marble top. This top is fringed with champlevé enamel drapery-like motifs, with gilt bronze drop-finials. The case is mounted on its front with a circular dial, which features a central floral champlevé enamel motif, encircled by black Arabic Numerals. This dial is set within a gilt bronze egg-and-dart and champlevé enamel bezel. The sides of the case are mounted with circular gilt bronze barometers...

A monumental architectural French 19th century neoclassical Revival gilt bronze mounted beige and red onyx longcase grandfather clock. The very impressive clock-case surmounted by a figure of seated Classical male figure...

A stunning and most impressive French 19th century Louis XVI st. Ormolu, Onyx and marble clock and pedestal, retailed by Camerden & Forster. This most rare set is comprised of a rich...