Table clock; France, ca. 1860

Table clock; France, c. 1860
Gilded bronze; ebonized wood base
Needs servicing
Measurements: 77 x 63 x 33 cm.

French table clock in the Restoration or Charles X style, crafted during the Napoleon III period, around the third quarter of the 19th century, in gilded and chiseled bronze, on an ebonized pear wood base. The clock case, with an architectural profile topped by a Greek helmet with a plume, features an enameled dial with Roman numerals flanked by two figures in the round, standing on the plinth, each representing a warrior from Classical Antiquity. The plinth serving as the base is decorated on the front with a relief frieze of classical theme, depicting a scene of sacrifice or libation before an altar with a bull’s skull, featuring several figures, and flanked by two panels displaying panoplies of shields and crossed weapons; the entire piece rests on claw-shaped feet. The base, made of ebonized wood, incorporates a gilded bronze plaque with a relief of cherubs and two gilded rosettes on the sides.

The composition, with neoclassical roots and a war-themed motif inspired by Homer or Roman mythology, is characteristic of the production of ceremonial bronzes from the French Restoration period (1814–1830) and the reign of Charles X; this style remained in vogue and was revived by numerous Parisian workshops during the middle decades of the century, within the historicist eclecticism characteristic of the Second Empire.