Object Description
Large gilt-bronze and malachite Charles X style mantel clock
French, 19th Century
Height 74cm, width 53cm, depth 24cm
This superb and impressively large mantel clock is cased in a vibrant malachite veneer, and adorned with radiant ormolu decorations, including the feet, dials, plinth-mount, and excellent figurative sculpture mounted on top, of a reclining female deity resting on a globe. Originally marble, the malachite replacement lends the piece a much crisper, polished, and modern finish. The piece is one of a set of variations on a popular model – the female figure of Urania, the Greek muse of astronomy, in particular occurs elsewhere – and the clock is executed in grand Charles X style, with noticeable Neoclassical influences.