Desk clock with trimming; France, c. 1882

Table clock with harness; France, c. 1882.
Gilt bronze; patinated bronze; "rouge griotte" marble.
Signed: Henry Dasson / 1882.
It works.
Measurements: 53 x 19 x 19 cm (clock) / 63 cm high (candlesticks).

Decorative set consisting of a table clock and its garnish of two three-light candlesticks; exquisite creation of Henry Dasson, dated 1882. The work is part of the neoclassical taste of the Louis XVI style, reinterpreted in Paris at the end of the 19th century. Dasson trained as a bronze sculptor before turning to the manufacture of furniture and luxury objects, which explains the extraordinary quality of the chiseling that characterizes his work. His production, active until 1894, is distinguished precisely by the fineness of the finish.

The two candelabra that accompany the clock have a markedly sculptural approach, since instead of the traditional stem, each one presents a patinated bronze putto in round bulge that holds with a graceful gesture some flowering branches of gilded bronze. From these branches emerge the arms that carry the three lights, forming a pompous composition. Both rest on bases of rouge griotte marble.

The clock, signed by Dasson, has a structure inspired by a fluted column, also in rouge griotte marble, interrupted to give way to the mechanism case, conceived as a cup supported on the shaft. It is a cercle tournant model, a type of watch in which the time is read by two rotating rings that rotate around the dial, instead of the traditional hands. On both sides, ornamental handles, from which hang finely chiseled garlands, frame the composition.

Crowning the whole, a Cupid in gilded bronze sits casually on the clock case, in a relaxed and graceful posture, holding an arrow in his right hand, while the left hand rests on the bow and quiver. This figure, a symbol of love and the passage of time, introduces a poetic note.