78. Auction

Splendid Mantel Clock by A. Maurel Bordeaux, Gilt Bronze, Louis XVI Style c. 1870

Bronze, fire-gilt, movement signed “A. Maurel Bordeaux”. An exceptionally splendid French mantel clock, crafted in the opulent Louis XVI style. The curved plinth on four decorated block feet is dominated on its facade by a central lion's mask with laurel leaves and is finished with a fine pearl frieze. Upon it rises the drum-shaped clock case, flanked by side scrolls with cascading, fully sculpted floral garlands. The white enamel dial displays Roman numerals for the hours and Arabic numerals for the minutes, framed in a bezel decorated with a pearl frieze. The pierced hands are also in the Louis XVI style. An architectural top with a lavish floral bouquet crowns the clock. Inside, a French round movement with spring suspension and half-hour strike on a bell is at work, its plate is hallmarked with the maker's name, key is present, good age-appropriate condition, The fire-gilding is well preserved and only partially somewhat rubbed. The movement is running. 38 x 23 x 13 cm (HxWxD)

The movement bears the signature of the clockmaker A. Maurel of Bordeaux. The clock is a high-quality work from the Napoleon III era, around 1870. This style, known as the "Second Empire," was characterized by historicism, which revived the luxurious and ornamental forms of earlier periods such as the Louis XVI style to represent the prosperity of the bourgeoisie.