Table clock with trim; France, 3/4 of the 19th century

Table clock with trim; France, 3/4 19th century.
Gilded bronze.
Needs servicing.
Measurements: 56 x 64 x 22 cm / 64 cm.

Gilded bronze table set, consisting of a clock and a pair of five-light candelabra, in the Louis XV style within the eclectic Napoleon III aesthetic. The clock features an enameled porcelain dial with Roman numerals, framed by an openwork rocaille border topped with a motif of birds and foliage; on either side of the case are two seated cherubs in the round, holding flowering branches. The base consists of a succession of rocaille scrolls with a small openwork recess in the center. The matching candelabra feature a standing cherub in the round, holding the central shaft with one arm; from this shaft extend five sinuous-profiled light arms, each topped with a torch-shaped finial. The clock’s Paris-style movement incorporates a Brocot suspension.

The Louis XV style that dominates this set reflects the decorative phenomenon known as “tout-les-Louis,” characteristic of the Napoleon III period and the decades that followed, when the French bourgeoisie, eager to emulate the refinement and social prestige of the aristocracy of the Ancien Régime, spearheaded an intense revival of 18th-century decorative styles, reinterpreted using 19th-century casting and gilding techniques. The cherubs, floral garlands, and asymmetrical scrollwork of this set are a fine example of this revivalist taste, which made these ostentatious pieces among the most prestigious items in the decorative furnishings of the bourgeois salons of the time.