A French ormolu, porcelain, tôle, and marble mantel clock

CIRCA 1880

Details

A French ormolu, porcelain, tôle, and marble mantel clock
Circa 1880
The white enamelled dial with Roman and Arabic chapters and twin-train movement, inscribed Ch. Bouy Grandpierre & Cie/A Paris, within a drum case suspending ribbon-tied bellflowers, set on a curved balustrade, issuing scrolling leafy branches with ceramic flowerheads, supported on Ionic grey-veined marble columns, the oval naturalistic base cast with a flowering urn and a tree stump centred by a biscuit figure entitled LA CURIOSITE and inscribed LE RICHE, the base indistinctly stamped
18¼in. (46.3cm.) high

Lot Essay

This clock's enhancement with naturalistically flowering vines and leafy branches recalls the grandeur of the Rococo. Introduced by the Meissen manufactory in the early 1740s, trompe l'oeil porcelain flowers were soon perfected at the Vincennes factory and became fashionable at Louis XV's court.

Several artists named 'Le Riche', likely members of the same family, were associated with the Sèvres factory in the 18th century. Josse François Joseph Le Riche was particularly renowned for his biscuit figure groups.

More from 19th Century Furniture, Sculpture, Works of Art and Ceramics

View All