Desk clock; France, c. 1790

Table clock; France, c. 1790
Mercury gilt bronze; "rouge griotte" marble base.
Signed on dial: "Armingaud l'Aîné à Paris".
Silk thread suspension.
With pendulum and key

This Directory period skeleton clock is a paradigmatic example of the French "haute-horlogerie" art of the late 18th century. The structure consists of a discreet structure in mercury gilded bronze that exposes part of the complex machinery of the movement in the center of the dial, which is inserted into the whole and becomes a decorative motif. The dial, with enameled Roman numerals, is signed by the craftsman Armingaud "the old", peeking below the sun-shaped pendulum, suspended by a silk thread.