Object Description
French Renaissance style gilt bronze and enamel mounted onyx longcase clock
French, late 19th Century
Height 126cm, width 37cm, depth 30cm
This colourful longcase clock was created in France in the late 19th Century. It has been crafted from red marble and green onyx and decorated with gilt bronze and champlevé enamel.
The clock consists of a circular enamel dial, mounted onto a cube-shaped case, placed on a tall body which is set on a short marble plinth. The circular clock dial features Arabic numerals and is ornamented with gilt bronze and colourful champlevé enamel designs. This is set within a circular gilt bronze and enamel frame and mounted onto the green onyx block. The corners of the block are lined with gilt bronze bands, and the sides are set with circular, gilt-bronze-framed champlevé enamel forms. The clock case is surmounted by a slim projecting green onyx and red marble top. This is edged with curvaceous champlevé enamel forms with gilt bronze drop-finials, which imitate fabric.
This clock case is mounted onto a slim, red marble slab. This is partly supported by a tall green onyx block, and partly by the two columns, which stand before it. These columns feature stylised, gilt bronze capitals, colourful champlevé enamel shafts, with gilt bronze bands around their centres, and gilt bronze bases. The shafts are decorated with white, pink, green, royal blue, and navy enamels, arranged in Islamic-inspired, geometric, and foliate motifs. A gilt bronze egg-and-dart cornice, and shaped champlevé enamel apron connect the two column capitals. The clock pendulum hangs down from this point to occupy the space between the columns. This terminates in a sun-burst form, with a classical mask at its centre.
The green onyx block and the two columns stand on a red marble base. This is decorated with a gilt bronze band, which is mounted at its centre with a champlevé enamel plaque. It is placed on four, slim gilt bronze feet.