Table clock with trim; Volkstedt Manufactory, Germany, c. 1900

Table clock with trim; Volkstedt Manufactory, Germany, c. 1900
Glazed porcelain
Stamped on the base
Signed on the movement: "Lenzkirch"
Clock measurements: 48 x 31 x 17 cm. / Candlestick height: 50 cm.

Glazed porcelain table set, consisting of a clock and a pair of four-candle candelabras, from the Volkstedt manufactory in Thuringia, crafted in the Rococo style in the manner of Louis XV. The clock, with a case decorated with embossed flowers (roses and carnations in shades of mauve, blue, and yellow), is topped by a child figure, while the front and sides of the base feature three putti in different poses, representing allegories of the seasons; the dial houses a Paris-type movement with a Brocot suspension. The candelabra, with plant-motif shafts, feature four sinuous light arms and rest on a mixtilinear base, with a group of two seated child figures at the base of each.

The Volkstedt porcelain manufactory, founded in 1760 in the Thuringia region (Germany), was one of the first and longest-lasting European porcelain factories after Meissen, specializing from its inception in profuse floral relief decoration and compositions of child figures—characteristics that define sets such as this one. Its production, with an aesthetic rooted in 18th-century Rococo, enjoyed enormous popularity in Europe during the 19th and early 20th centuries, being exported and highly prized for the richness and delicacy of its hand-applied flowers—the company’s true hallmark.