Ormolu Clock "with a Swing", France, circa 1820

Dial signed « Planchon à Paris » A fine clock in white marble and chased and gilt bronze, depicting a female figure draped in the antique manner, holding two hearts in her right ha...

Dial signed Polti Frères Measures: With base or glass: Height 61 cm (24 in.), width 51,5 cm (20.3 in.), depth 23.5 cm (9,2 in.) Without base: Height 52 cm (20,5 in.), width 42 cm (16.5 in.), depth 12.5 cm (4.9 in.) Important philhellenic clock in burnished and amati gilded bronze, finely chiseled, representing on the terrace a couple elegantly dressed in "the turkish style", and richly decorated with foliage, scrolls and flowers. The feet, decorated with water leaves, rest on an oval wooden base covered with a globe. The theme of the clock comes from The Giaour, a fragment of a Turkish Tale, an English poem by Lord Byron published in may 1813 which tells the thwarted love of a Venetian, the Giaour – term by which the Turks designate infidels and especially Christians – and of Leila, a slave belonging to Hassan’s seraglio, military leader of a Turkish province. The betrayal of Leila discovered, she will be thrown into the sea and her lover will avenge her by killing Hassan, then taking refuge in a monastery. Symbol of prestige and modernity, the decorative clocks are a reflection of the taste of the era of a wealthy bourgeoisie and may be the subject of diplomatic gifts or between individuals. Beyond the purely decorative aspect of such objects, watchmaking in the 19th century is part of a subtle mix of political, historical and literary references. This philhellenic movement converning the West finds a particular echo in France, one of the countries with the United Kingdom and Russia having suported the Greeks during their war of independance (1821-1830) to free oneself from the grip of the Ottoman Empire. Many clocks...

Large and rare Louis XVI style cage clock in chiseled and gilded bronze, rectangular in shape, highlighted with friezes of water leaves and pearls, with glass panels decorated with t...

Gilt bronze clock, whose cylindrical dial with attributes of Love is supported by a patinated bronze kneeling cherub. The whole rests on a red Griotta marble pedestal ornated with a ...

An early 19th century French bronze and ormolu eight day silk suspension striking clock contained in ornate case surmounted by well-cast and gadrooned urn...

A French ormolu mantel clock French, mid-late 19th century Measres: Height 37 cm, width 39 cm, depth 13.5 cm. A late 19th century French gilt-bronze (ormolu) and marble mantel clock ...

Small mantel clock with bas-relief France Bronze, enamel early 19th century Dimensions: H x W x D: 33 x 19 x 9 cm Description: Antique, fire-gilt portal clock with figurative, Gre...

Elegant mid-19th century French mantel clock, finely crafted with gilt-bronze ormolu mounts and exquisite hand-painted Sèvres porcelain panels. The clock is adorned with striking bro...