Antique French Ormolu & Porcelain Clock circa 1860

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Antique French Ormolu & Porcelain Clock circa 1860

About the Item

This is a very attractive antique French ormolu mantel clock with a profusion of blue porcelain panels in the Sevres manner, and circa 1860 in date. The movement is stamped R.C which is attributed to Richard & Cie. The serial Number: 1425. The dial has Roman numerals centred by a pair of nesting doves and floral garlands. The brass twin drum movement strikes on a bell. The clock has a rectangular case with a foliate pierced gallery and an ogee dome top with an elegant finial. There are beautiful porcelain panels with bleu de roi and gilt tooled borders. The side panels are decorated with landscapes, the front panel with a classical figural scene of a maiden and a playful putti holding a floral garland. The clock has an acanthus case rectangular plinth base with angled corners and stands on double hoof feet. This incredible clock is a must have for any collector of ornamental and decorative pieces. C ondition: You are viewing this item in its excellent original untouched condition. Any restoration that is required will be accomplished before delivery and is included in the price. Dimensions in cm: Height 42 x Width 24 x Depth 14 Dimensions in inches: Height 16.5 x Width 9.4 x Depth 5.5 Ormolu (from French 'or moulu', signifying ground or pounded gold) is an 18th-century English term for applying finely ground, high-carat gold in a mercury amalgam to an object of bronze.The mercury is driven off in a kiln leaving behind a gold-coloured veneer known as 'gilt bronze'. The manufacture of true ormolu employs a process known as mercury-gilding or fire-gilding, in which a solution of nitrate of mercury is applied to a piece of copper, brass, or bronze, followed by the application of an amalgam of gold and mercury. The item was then exposed to extreme heat until the mercury burned off and the gold remained, adhered to the metal object. No true ormolu was produced in France after around 1830 because legislation had outlawed the use of mercury. Therefore, other techniques were used instead but nothing surpasses the original mercury-firing ormolu method for sheer beauty and richness of colour. Electroplating is the most common modern technique. Ormolu techniques are essentially the same as those used on silver, to produce silver-gilt (also known as vermeil). R.C - According to Charles Allix (in his Carriage Clock book), Richard & Cie was founded in Paris in 1848 under a different name and added a branch in London in 1857. Then in 1867 the branch became Richard & Co. of 24 Cannon Street, London. In France, this would be Richard et Cie. Loomes says that the London business lasted until 1881. Allix also says that the inscription "R & C" without the full trademark probably denotes a clock handled by Richard but not made by them. The Richard trademark contains an R and C with a snake's head in between, all enclosed within an oval. Thus my best GUESS is that this clock was sold sometime after 1867 by Richard as a retailer in London. Sevres Porcelain traces its roots in France to early craftsmen who had small manufacturing operations in such places as Lille, Rouen. St. Cloud, and most notably Chantilly. It is from Chantilly that a cadre of workers migrated to the Chateau de Vincennes near Paris to form a larger porcelain manufactory in 1738. French King Louis XV, perhaps inspired by his rumoured relationship with mistress Madame de Pompadour, took an intense interest in porcelain and moved the operation in 1756 to even larger quarters in the Paris suburb of Sevres. Sevres was also conveniently near the home of Madame de Pompadour and the King's own Palace at Versailles. From the outset the king's clear aim was to produce Sevres Porcelain that surpassed the established Saxony works of Meissen and Dresden. Though the French lacked an ample supply of kaolin, a required ingredient for hard-paste porcelain (pate dure), their soft-paste porcelain (pate tendre) was fired at a lower temperature and was thus compatible with a wider variety of colours and glazes that in many cases were also richer and more vivid. Unglazed white Sevres Porcelain "biscuit" figurines were also a great success. However, soft-paste Sevres Porcelain was more easily broken. Therefore, early pieces of Sevres Porcelain that remain intact have become rare indeed. The Sevres Porcelain manufactory always seemed to be in dire financial straits despite the incredibly fine works it produced. In fact, the king's insistence that only the finest items be created may have contributed to the difficulties. Only a limited number of European nobility could afford the extravagant prices demanded for such works. King Louis XV and eventually his heir, the ill-fated Louis XVI, were obliged to invest heavily in the enterprise. Ultimately, the Sevres Porcelain Factory produced items under the name of "Royal" and thus the well-known Sevres mark was born. King Louis XV even mandated laws that severely restricted other porcelain production in France so as to retain a near monopoly for his Sevres Porcelain. The king even willingly became chief salesman for the finest of his products, hosting an annual New Year's Day showing for French nobility in his private quarters at Versailles. He eagerly circulated among potential buyers, pitching the merits of ownership and policing the occasional light-fingered guest. Sevres Porcelain may have indeed given the makers of Meissen and Dresden a run for their money by the end of the 18th Century but for the French Revolution. By 1800, the Sevres Porcelain Works were practically out of business due to the economic devastation of the new French Republic. About the time when Napoleon Bonaparte named himself Emperor of France (1804), a new director was named for the Sevres Porcelain Manufactory. Alexandre Brongniart, highly educated in many fields, resurrected Sevres Porcelain. Soft-paste porcelain was eliminated altogether thanks to the earlier discovery of kaolin near Limoges. For four decades until his death, Brongniart presided over monumental progress for Sevres Porcelain, catering not only to Napoleon himself, but at last to include the more financially profitable mid-priced market in the emerging middle class.

Dimensions:
Height: 16.54 in (42 cm)Width: 9.45 in (24 cm)Depth: 5.52 in (14 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Ormolu,Porcelain
Place of Origin:
France
Period:
19th Century
Date of Manufacture:
c. 1860
Condition:
You are viewing this item in its excellent original untouched condition. Any restoration that is required will be accomplished before delivery and is included in the price.
Seller Location:
London, GB
Reference Number:
Seller: 056201stDibs: LU95061112536