Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

French

An esteemed producer of bronze for many of Paris’s prestigious cabinetmakers during the late 19th century, Maison Mottheau et Fils is also renowned for elaborate furniture designs that combine function and decoration.

Throughout the late 1800s, Maison Mottheau et Fils designed and produced decorative gilt-bronze objets d’art and furniture, including ormolu-mounted tea tables and ornate Neoclassical-style clocks. However, the company was mostly known for its lines of exquisite Louis XVI wall lights, chandeliers, candelabras and lanterns. With the introduction of electricity in the 1890s, Maison Mottheau et Fils incorporated the new technology into its lighting fixtures, and the company flourished.

Maison Mottheau et Fils was inspired by famed bronzier Pierre Gouthière (1740–1806) in many of its designs; it also collaborated with several well-known French sculptors. Among them was Frédéric-Eugène Piat (1827–1903), who designed an onyx and gilt-bronze torchère lumineuse for the company that was shown at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Maison Mottheau et Fils’s display also featured a pair of large Napoleon III gilt-bronze candelabras, each lit by ten electric lights.

The company’s electrical lighting exhibit garnered critical acclaim, prompting the Art Journal to write in 1900 that the “French Section shows many examples of fine work applied under the new conditions, but we doubt if a more complete success is to be recorded to the credit of any exhibitor that can be conceded to Messieurs Mottheau et Fils.”

Today, pieces by Maison Mottheau et Fils continue to be highly sought by collectors of late 19th-century furniture.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of antique Maison Mottheau et Fils lighting, decorative objects and other furniture and collectibles.

Creator: Maison Mottheau et Fils

A Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze and Blue Enamel Cartel Clock and Barometer

By Maison Mottheau et Fils

Located in Brighton, West Sussex

A Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze and Blue Enamel Cartel Clock and Barometer, By Maison Mottheau & Fils., Paris. This exceptional cartel clock and aneroid barometer exhibit the finest p...

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19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

Materials

Bronze, Enamel

A Louis XVI Style Gilt-Bronze and Blue Enamel Cartel Clock and Barometer

$102,984

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Late 19th Century French Louis XV Antique Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

Materials

Bronze

Allegorical Louis XV Style Gilt Bronze Cartel Clock Depicting "Night and Day"

$11,500

H 28 in W 16 in D 4 in

Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze Cartel

Located in BARSAC, FR

Large Louis XVI style cartel clock in finely chiseled gilt bronze with rich decoration of plant garlands, fire pot and mascaron depicting a female face. Work of quality, Napoleon II...

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Mid-19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

Materials

Bronze

Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze Cartel

$2,273

H 24.41 in W 4.73 in D 12.6 in

Exceptional Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and Malachite Grandfather Clock

Located in London, GB

Exceptional Louis XVI style gilt bronze and malachite grandfather clock French, late 19th century Measures: Height 250cm, width 54cm, depth 33cm This superb longcase clock is a wonderful example of the Belle Époque impetus to draw inspiration from the styles of the past. The clock, crafted during the late nineteenth century—though the malachite finish is later—is inspired by a famous eighteenth-century original. The clock is of traditional form, which a cubic clock case inset with an enamel dial and a gilt bronze bezel cast with signs of the zodiac. The central section of the clock includes a window, which reveals the pendulum inside, while the lower section is in the form of a plinth. The malachite veneer is wonderfully varied, with lighter and darker shades of the stone utilised to add visual interest. The clock is surmounted by a sculpture in gilt bronze of Apollo in his chariot, pulled by a quadriga of horses. The dial is signed for Rosel Bruxelles...

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Late 19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

Materials

Malachite, Ormolu

Exceptional Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and Malachite Grandfather Clock

$205,968

H 98.43 in W 21.26 in D 13 in

Louis XVI Ormolu Cartel Clock

Located in Kittery Point, ME

The circular glazed white enamel dial with Roman and Arabic chapters, set within a pierced case with ribbon-tied fruiting laurel trails, each side with a ram’s mask capped pilaster, ...

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Late 18th Century French Louis XVI Antique Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

Materials

Bronze

Louis XVI Ormolu Cartel Clock

$14,000 Sale Price

20% Off

H 31.75 in W 16.75 in D 4 in

Late 18th Century, French Louis XVI Neoclassical Ormolu Gilt Bronze Cartel Clock

Located in Worpswede / Bremen, DE

A very fine Louis XVI period ormolu striking cartel clock “aux guirlandes”, the movement signed on the white enamel by Gille L’Aine, Paris. Pierre II. Gille l’ainé (1723-1784) was th...

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Late 18th Century French Louis XVI Antique Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

Materials

Bronze, Enamel

Late 18th Century, French Louis XVI Neoclassical Ormolu Gilt Bronze Cartel Clock

$14,360

H 28.35 in W 13.39 in D 5.12 in

Large antique gilt bronze French cartel clock in the Louis XVI style

Located in London, GB

This beautiful antique clock, crafted in the refined Louis XVI style is of traditional form, but is notable for its intricate and extensive dec...

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Late 19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

Materials

Bronze, Enamel

Large antique gilt bronze French cartel clock in the Louis XVI style

$13,057

H 31.89 in W 13.39 in D 5.12 in

Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and Marble Clock Set

Located in Astoria, NY

Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and Marble Three Piece Clock Set, the clock case with cupola and columnar supports, enameled dial, the movement with mercury compensated pendulum and stri...

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Early 20th Century French Louis XVI Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

Materials

Marble, Metal, Bronze, Ormolu

Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and Marble Clock Set

$3,700 / set

H 20 in W 12 in D 6 in

Antique French Louis XVI style gilt bronze cartel clock

Located in London, GB

Antique French Louis XVI style gilt bronze cartel clock French, late 19th Century Height 63cm, width 28cm, depth 10cm This elegant cartel clo...

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19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

Materials

Ormolu

Antique French Louis XVI style gilt bronze cartel clock

$7,552

H 24.81 in W 11.03 in D 3.94 in

Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and White Marble Clock

Located in Paris, FR

Gilt bronze clock in the Louis XVI style representing a nymph and two cherubs. The nymph, undressed and resting on a cushion, is nursing one of the cherubs while the second one calls...

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1850s French Louis XVI Antique Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

Materials

Marble, Bronze, Enamel

Louis XVI Style Gilt Bronze and White Marble Clock

$8,340

H 17.72 in W 13.19 in D 5.12 in

A Louis XVI Style Ormolu Cartel Clock

Located in Sheffield, MA

With a circular white enamel dial, surmounted by swags and ending with a woman’s face. Morbiere Movement

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19th Century French Antique Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

A Louis XVI Style Ormolu Cartel Clock

$3,800

H 24 in W 18 in D 12 in

19th Century Neoclassical Style Gilt Bronze Cartel Clock and Barometer by Dasson

Located in London, GB

This fine set comprises a cartel clock and barometer, each of which are crafted entirely in gilt bronze. The clock and barometer cases are identical, and take the form of a lyre. The...

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19th Century French Neoclassical Antique Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

Materials

Enamel, Ormolu, Bronze

19th Century Neoclassical Style Gilt Bronze Cartel Clock and Barometer by Dasson

$61,850 / set

H 40.56 in W 17.33 in D 5.12 in

Rococo Style Gilt Bronze Cartel Clock and Barometer

Located in London, GB

In their elaborate use of C-scrolls, putti figures, stylised acanthus leaves and flowers, this clock and barometer are clearly Rococo in their style. The Rococo came into fashion in ...

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19th Century French Rococo Antique Maison Mottheau et Fils Clocks

Materials

Enamel, Ormolu, Bronze

Rococo Style Gilt Bronze Cartel Clock and Barometer

$24,716 / set

H 30.32 in W 18.51 in D 5.91 in

Previously Available Items

Neoclassical Gilt Bronze Clock and Barometer Set by Maison Mottheau

By Maison Mottheau et Fils

Located in London, GB

This beautiful clock and barometer are contained by matching gilt bronze cases, wrought in the elaborate Louis XVI style, the duo thus constituting a pair. The cases feature gilt bro...

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